give (someone) pause
idiom
: to cause (someone) to stop and think about something carefully or to have doubts about something
I was going to ask her for help, but the look on her face gave me pause.
Examples of give (someone) pause in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet his efforts in the past few weeks to roll back many environmental and climate change initiatives in favor of fossil fuel production should give pause.
—
Bella Kubach, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
That Olise was ridiculed should give pause for thought about how young footballers are treated.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
Seventy-three years later, details of the tragedy still give pause to those who hear them.
—Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2025
New laws in the EU, and potential state regulations in the U.S., could also give pause to those experimenting with AI at the extreme end of the carelessness spectrum.
—Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for give (someone) pause
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Bella Kubach, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
That Olise was ridiculed should give pause for thought about how young footballers are treated.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
Seventy-three years later, details of the tragedy still give pause to those who hear them.
—Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2025
New laws in the EU, and potential state regulations in the U.S., could also give pause to those experimenting with AI at the extreme end of the carelessness spectrum.
—Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for give (someone) pause
Cite this Entry
“Give (someone) pause.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/give%20%28someone%29%20pause. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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