1
as in tie
a situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition, or struggle comes out ahead of the other
after two hours they had played to a 5-5 standoff
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
the standoff continued for three days before the fugitive gave himself up to the authorities
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in detached
having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others
the client's standoff attitude suggested that this was going to be a strictly business relationship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of standoff
Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2025
Police initially announced the standoff in a post shortly after noon on Monday, March 17, and asked residents to avoid the area.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Mar. 2025
Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 31 Dec. 2024
Hidden desires come into the light when the sun stands off with Uranus.
—USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for standoff
Noun
In their successful bid to put Amiri behind bars, prosecutors revealed a previously undisclosed tense standoff between Amiri and his department’s chief in 2023.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2025
Police initially announced the standoff in a post shortly after noon on Monday, March 17, and asked residents to avoid the area.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
As the celebration unfolded in front of him, O’Connell stood off to the side by himself, smiling and shaking his head.
—Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 31 Dec. 2024
Hidden desires come into the light when the sun stands off with Uranus.
—USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for standoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for standoff
Noun
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See Christian Bale as Frankenstein and Jessie Buckley as The Bride in First Look at Maggie Gyllenhaal's New Film Letting the tie be the center of attention for her dark-colored suit, the Dark Knight alum went with minimal makeup and a dark red lip that matched her manicure.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
2 Apr. 2025
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McIlroy’s best finish at Travelers is a tie for seventh in 2023.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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In today’s interconnected world, a virus emerging in one corner of the globe can bring entire economies to a halt and overwhelm healthcare systems thousands of miles away.—
Robert B. Tucker,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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Community backlash forced revisions to the flawed plan and brought the zoning rewrite to a halt.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The property comes with a detached garage with a stylish glass garage door and a car charger.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The designation includes the original detached garage, pool and relevant landscape design elements.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Pic suffered a tough break when, shortly into the premiere showing at Roy Thomson Hall when the propulsive narrative was just taking off, the film had to be halted and the lights turned back on because of a medical emergency suffered by a ticketholder.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2025
-
Palestinians have appeared ready for peace in the past, only to turn back to rejection and terrorism.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Spurs saw that intensity first-hand in the 2-2 draw with them in north London on March 9, where the visitors took 17 shots while nicking the ball eight times in the attacking third.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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This commonality is the show — and podcast’s — key draw: everyone has places to be.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The impasse raises the likelihood that the debt ceiling will be dealt with separately as part of a deal with the Democrats on wildfire aid later this year.—
David Sivak,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
25 Mar. 2025
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Don't be surprised if Beijing and Washington use this impasse as a bargaining chip in tariff talks.—
Dan Primack,
Axios,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Placing in a distant second was Trump Jr., with 12%.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2025
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To be clear: The consumer version of a psychiatric BCI like Inner Cosmos’ Digital Pill may be just as distant or hypothetical as any other BCI.—
Naveen Rao,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Stephan Jaeger held off Scottie Scheffler to win the event last year, but who will win it all in 2025?—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
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The full Senate for nearly two months had held off on voting on her ambassadorship nomination, after it was recommended by the Foreign Relations Committee, because of concerns that her departure from the House would threaten Trump’s legislative agenda.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Standoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/standoff. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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