CALL OFF Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

call off

verb

Definition of call off

as in to distract

to draw the attention or mind to something else she was about to tell me the big news when her attention was called off by the arrival of another guest

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to cancel

to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to) called off the party after half of those invited couldn't make it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of call off Affleck and Lopez initially dated in the early 2000s, calling off their engagement in 2004. — Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2026 In the same letter, Griffith threatened to call off the wedding unless he was made sole owner. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026 Hours later, the Coast Guard shared that the search had been called off. — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2026 In another snippet of internal dispatcher audio, an operator can be heard calling off the emergency response. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for call off

Recent Examples of Synonyms for call off

Verb

In each case, the visible problem can distract from the value underneath it.

— Michael Ligon, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
The Democrat, who supports Jackson, thinks there’s wisdom in trying to avoid gaffes that distract from Collins.

— Julia Terruso, Time, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of distract

Verb

The shenanigans ultimately prove slight but undeniably diverting.

— Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
The $10 million, part of a settlement offered by a company that overcharged Medicaid, was diverted into other hands, starting with the Hope Florida Foundation, the favorite charity of First Lady Casey DeSantis.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of divert

Verb

But big pharmaceutical companies have largely abandoned the quest for new antibiotics, because the research and development needed to discover them is time-consuming and expensive.

— Zoë Schiffer, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
They are joined by other Democrats who have spent years trying to push the party to abandon its more cautious approach to governing, and could now get their chance.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of abandon

Verb

Though the company is still throwing off bundles of cash, the profits aren’t good enough for a ravenous Wall Street, and the blood of 1,000 staff has been let as Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters attempt to change the record.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026
And for a quarterback whose superpower involves shuffling through collapsing pockets, scrambling through squalor, throwing off any and every platform — such a question was warranted.

— Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of throw off

Verb

In another depressing week for the UK’s public broadcaster, there were more cuts, talk of even more cuts and programs scrapped, as the BBC’s desperate bid to make the books work continues under former Google EMEA chief Matt Brittin.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026
Yet Brazil’s count runs partially on the kind of paperless machines that the president has vowed to scrap.

— Solly Boussidan, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of scrap

Verb

The drone fell to the ground, aborting the mission, Flint said in a series of messages on WhatsApp.

— Anastasiia Parafeniuk, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
This month's event was the first drop test since an unsuccessful attempt in May, when a sensor flagged an issue during preparations, prompting engineers to abort the test before the model was released.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 22 Oct. 2026