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Synonyms

put off

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to postpone or delay

    they have put off the dance until tomorrow

  2. (tr, adverb) to evade (a person) by postponement or delay

    they tried to put him off, but he came anyway

  3. (tr, adverb) to confuse; disconcert

    he was put off by her appearance

  4. (tr, preposition) to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of

    the accident put him off driving

  5. (intr, adverb) nautical to be launched off from shore or from a ship

    we put off in the lifeboat towards the ship

  6. archaic (tr, adverb) to remove (clothes)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a pretext or delay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
put off Idioms  

  1. Delay or postpone, as in He always puts off paying his bills. This idiom, dating from the late 1300s, gave rise to the proverb Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, first recorded in the late 1300s (in Chaucer's Tale of Melibee) and repeated ever since. Also see put one off.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Put off by the crowds, she’s tried to enter the park only once this season.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2023

Put off by the long NHS waiting lists, she borrowed the money to book a £685 appointment.

From BBC • May 15, 2023

Put off action for a year so that Washington can find ways to protect those who genuinely need protecting without upending accountability and transparency.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2023

Put off by Elon Musk's muscular management style?

From Reuters • Nov. 22, 2022

Put off killing Hares as long as possible.

From The Dog by Dinks

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.