staving off

verb

Definition of staving offnext
present participle of stave off
1
as in turning back
to drive back managed to stave off the invaders

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in preventing
to keep from happening by taking action in advance the quartermaster staved off a shortage by requisitioning more than enough supplies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for staving off
  1. preventing
  2. averting
  3. repelling
  4. resisting
Verb
  • Israel’s attacks are also aimed at preventing Iran from preserving a foothold in Syria.
    Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • His phone-free shows have been attributed to a means of eliminating distractions as well as preventing clips from circulating out of context online.
    Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of preventing
Verb
  • Instead of averting a partisan battle, the delay ignited one.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
  • In a future pandemic, that could mean saving 6 million lives globally and averting 91% of the kind of economic losses and disruptions to education that resulted from the last pandemic.
    Jano Costard, Fortune Europe, 16 Oct. 2024
Definition of averting
Verb
  • Erin Smith, whose husband Jeff Smith suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fracture while repelling the rioters, said Dana Bell, 66, contributed to her husband's attack.
    Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Bombarding leads with constant emails, pushy sales calls and generic mass messaging can make a company seem desperate, harming its reputation while simultaneously repelling prospects rather than attracting them.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Definition of repelling
Verb
  • Leigh’s movies have often evidenced a socialist tendency while resisting typical political bias — except for the unfortunate mixed-bag Peterloo.
    Armond White, National Review, 11 Dec. 2024
  • This reminds us of the importance of resisting conformity in our own careers.
    William Arruda, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of resisting
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near staving off

staves off

staving off

stay

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Cite this Entry

“Staving off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/staving%20off. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on staving off

Nglish: Translation of staving off for Spanish Speakers

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