How to Use give (someone) pause in a Sentence

give (someone) pause

idiom
  • The answer should give pause to investors who plan to hold for the long run.
    James MacKintosh, WSJ, 6 Dec. 2020
  • White played well enough to give pause on who would start once Wilson was healthy.
    Dj Bien-Aime Ii, baltimoresun.com, 23 Nov. 2021
  • That should give pause as the rightful excitement grows about the Bowie group this year.
    Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 7 June 2021
  • The findings should give pause to researchers using mice to study pain as well.
    Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2016
  • But that answer might still give pause to people who view it as waffling.
    Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Rallies like what happened last week might give pause to members of the public.
    Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2021
  • That’s the fifth consecutive month of 5% or better Y/Y gains and may give pause for concern.
    Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 3 June 2022
  • And in the theatrical business, a strong showing from Doctor Strange 2 may give pause to any future day-and-date plans.
    Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 May 2022
  • Yet the quick turnaround on Youngkin by Virginia's voters should give pause to those projections.
    Neil J. Young, The Week, 25 Feb. 2022
  • That should give pause to officials in the 16 states—from Maine to California—where a public option is on the table.
    Sally Pipes, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
  • The fact that President Donald Trump promised to name justices who would overturn Roe might also give pause.
    Sue Halpern, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2022
  • But the Cincinnati game does give pause to the normal mindset of assuming the Mustangs will run over a team it’s favored to dominate.
    Sam Blum, Dallas News, 30 Oct. 2020
  • That may give pause to businesses hoping to hire chatbots to cut their human payrolls.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023
  • The details surrounding his death might give pause to even the most die-hard paddlers who visit the iconic canoe country.
    Joe Friedrichs Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 26 Nov. 2020
  • This should give pause to critics of climate action who continue to invoke its cost.
    Greg Jackson, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2021
  • The trauma in Israel today should give pause to those thinking that Israel will simply acquiesce to a short tit for tat.
    Natan Sachs, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2023
  • Indeed, as change is determined to shake even the most brilliant businesses to the core, this trend should give pause, not reassurance.
    Caterina Bulgarella, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022
  • Ryquell Armstead has been hospitalized at least twice — ought to give pause to those making decisions about whether to put players in harm’s way.
    Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2020
  • The improving metrics are cause for elation on many fronts, but several troubling trends give pause.
    Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2022
  • Perhaps that should give pause to those on the religious left inclined to dismiss Biden’s calls for healing—or at least prompt them to discern the deeper truth such calls point toward.
    Matthew Sitman, The New Republic, 15 Apr. 2021
  • That display of resilience in 2021 should give pause to all those who might expect Djokovic to curl himself into a ball on the floor of his Monte Carlo apartment in the aftermath of the Australian affair.
    New York Times, 16 Jan. 2022
  • But Stefanik's somewhat moderate voting record could give pause to some members.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 13 May 2021
  • That might give pause, but so also does the fact that half the world’s economies, most of the buyers of China’s exports, have joined the sanctions regime, and Beijing has no desire to get on the wrong side of such an important, and dominant, group.
    Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2022
  • But Russia’s war against Ukraine has backfired and proved to be counterproductive in ways that will likely give pause to any would-be imitators.
    John Mueller, Foreign Affairs, 2 Aug. 2022
  • These recent developments should give pause to lawmakers, such as Sens.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2022
  • When Broadnax does leave, at whatever that point is, will what’s gone down the last few days give pause to how the next candidates for the city manager job see the attractiveness of working for Johnson and this City Council?
    Dallas News, 13 June 2022
  • The guilty verdict in the case — returned within two hours on the first full day of deliberations — could give pause to other defendants planning to use similar arguments at their own trials.
    New York Times, 2 May 2022
  • The drug’s failure to improve overall survival rates could give pause to some health insurers and oncologists about using the more expensive Lumakras, Mr. Skorney said.
    Joseph Walker, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022
  • But examination of its record, in Boston and nationally, should give pause to those who care about the poor, especially low-income African-Americans.
    Rachel Heller, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Feb. 2023
  • While the ultimate effect on local taxpayers remains to be seen, the swiftness of Florida’s reaction might give pause to other companies operating in the Sunshine state.
    Timothy J. McClimon, Forbes, 6 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'give (someone) pause.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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