phrasal verb

• 1put something off, put off somethingPostpone something.

  ‘they can't put off a decision much longer’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Decisions about replacing cages will be put off until 2009.’
  • ‘The proposal, with five others, was considered by Southend's cabinet yesterday but a decision was put off because of an undisclosed technical matter.’
  • ‘But a decision was put off for a further four weeks while design issues are resolved.’
  • ‘What was said to me was that the decision has been put off until Tuesday.’
  • ‘I kept putting the decision off, until my friend persuaded me to tell the baby's father.’
  • ‘The wish to put things off or to delay them is human, but counterproductive.’
  • ‘Their questions were put off until after the public address.’
  • ‘In the last three months, 14 operations were put off because instruments, including scalpels and forceps, were found to be dirty or the protective wrapping was damaged.’
  • ‘Maintenance schemes costing more than £700,000 to improve the condition of York council homes have been put off - because of a funding shortfall.’
  • ‘If your older child is approaching any major milestones, like potty training or moving from a crib to a bed, you may want to put them off until after the baby has been at home for some time.’

  Synonyms

  postpone, defer, delay, put off, adjourn, hold over, reschedule, table

  postpone, defer, delay, put back, adjourn, hold over, reschedule, shelve, table

  1. 1.1put someone off, put off someoneCancel or postpone an appointment with someone.
     ‘he'd put off Martin until nine o'clock’
     More example sentences

     • ‘But a lunch date with Marco beckoned, so reluctantly, we agreed to put Dali off until our next trip to the capital.’
     • ‘Maybe I can keep on putting them off until things are all right.’
     • ‘Suddenly amazed at their own good fortune, the Cardinals made overtures to retain Keane, but he put them off until after the World Series.’
     • ‘The mother puts him off: until the harvest, until the threshing of the corn, until the baking of the bread.’
     • ‘Marcos didn't want to put us off yet again and arranged a slot especially.’
     • ‘I was to go back to them but they kept putting me off although I rang them three or four times a week for 12 weeks.’
     • ‘He apologised for putting me off so long but asked if I could come over to Manchester the next day.’
     • ‘My wife had been pestering me to take her shopping for the boys' presents, and I had been putting her off.’
     • ‘I kept putting her off, telling her it was too soon and if we bought it too early it would go off.’

• 2put someone off, put off someoneCause someone to lose interest or enthusiasm.

  ‘she wanted to be a nurse, but the thought of night shifts put her off’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Last year there were reports he was buying a luxury home in Brigg, north Lincolnshire, but it is thought the press interest put him off.’
  • ‘Yet, while I find myself disappointed, it was not disappointing enough to put me off of the movie in general.’
  • ‘If none of these factors puts you off, you may be interested to know that this book is full of dramatic moments, insights, and images that grip, enlighten, and linger in the memory.’
  • ‘It's his duty to encourage our interest in politics and not put us off it.’
  • ‘I am very disappointed at their decision but it won't put me off painting.’
  • ‘This intimidated me a bit, and put me off talking to her.’
  • ‘A mess on the rocks is sure to put you off your cream tea until a couple of tides have cleaned it up.’
  • ‘The unpleasantness which followed put her off writing biographies, until she hit on the idea of doing MacGowan's.’
  • ‘The high cost of insurance would probably put me off buying one.’
  • ‘Transplant teams say more donors are desperately needed - and they urge people not to let distrust of the medical profession put them off giving others the chance of life.’

  Synonyms

  deter, discourage, dishearten, demoralize, dissuade, daunt, unnerve, intimidate, scare off

  1. 2.1Cause someone to feel dislike or distrust.
     ‘she had a coldness that just put me off’
     More example sentences

     • ‘It must have been my icy coldness towards him that put him off.’
     • ‘If you know somebody will repeat everything you say over the dinner table to a gossip columnist it will probably put you off the person.’
     • ‘His whole attitude put me off.’
     • ‘What really put me off him was the increasingly creepy tenor of the relationship between him and his fans.’
     • ‘His sly schoolboy demeanor puts me off.’

• 3put someone off, put off someoneDistract someone.

  ‘don't put me off—I'm trying to concentrate’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I think he was put off by the comments.’
  • ‘The referee awarded a penalty, which was hotly contested by Bryansford, but Gavin Murdock wasn't put off and blasted to the net.’
  • ‘I tried to stare at him to inform him that he was putting me off, but he just gave me a friendly and encouraging smile.’
  • ‘I don't want to hear your conversations, you're putting me off.’
  • ‘Far from putting him off, these are the kind of circumstances in which Smith thrives.’
  • ‘She couldn't answer any questions because my ears were so red it was putting her off.’
  • ‘He's just one of those guys that nothing really puts him off.’
  • ‘But the rain delay did not put her off her game as she quickly claimed the next three points to take the first break of the match.’
  • ‘In 2003 I lost my world title because I was put off by the times the other riders were doing, so today was all about thinking about my own ride.’
  • ‘Some golfers complain about the noise from the nearby M77, but if that is really putting you off your game then you have already lost concentration.’

  Synonyms

  distract, put someone off their stroke, disturb someone's concentration, cause someone to lose their concentration, divert someone's attention, sidetrack