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SET OFF
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Cause to burst with a violent release of energy
Example:
We exploded the nuclear bomb
Synonyms:
blow up; detonate; explode; set off
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
change integrity (change in physical make-up)
Cause:
blow up; detonate; explode (burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "set off"):
fulminate (cause to explode violently and with loud noise)
dynamite (blow up with dynamite)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Set in motion or cause to begin
Example:
The guide set the tour off to a good start
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
begin; commence; lead off; start (set in motion, cause to start)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Direct attention to, as if by means of contrast
Example:
I set off these words by brackets
Synonyms:
bring out; set off
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
accent; accentuate; emphasise; emphasize; punctuate; stress (to stress, single out as important)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "set off"):
pick up (lift out or reflect from a background)
foreground; highlight; play up; spotlight (move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent)
raise (bring (a surface or a design) into relief and cause to project)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Provoke or stir up
Example:
set off great unrest among the people
Synonyms:
incite; instigate; set off; stir up
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
provoke; stimulate (provide the needed stimulus for)
Cause:
act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "set off"):
raise (activate or stir up)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Sense 5
Meaning:
Put in motion or move to act
Example:
actuate the circuits
Synonyms:
activate; actuate; set off; spark; spark off; touch off; trigger; trigger off; trip
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
initiate; pioneer (take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of)
Cause:
come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 6
Meaning:
Leave
Example:
The family took off for Florida
Synonyms:
depart; part; set forth; set off; set out; start; start out; take off
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
go away; go forth; leave (go away from a place)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "set off"):
lift off; take off (depart from the ground)
roar off (leave)
blaze; blaze out (move rapidly and as if blazing)
sally forth; sally out (set out in a sudden, energetic or violent manner)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Sentence example:
The children set off to the playground
Sense 7
Meaning:
Make up for
Example:
His skills offset his opponent's superior strength
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "set off" is one way to...):
balance; equilibrate; equilibrise; equilibrize (bring into balance or equilibrium)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "set off"):
counteract; counterbalance; countervail; neutralize (oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Context examples:
Sometimes, reactive arthritis is set off by an infection in the bladder, or in the urethra, which carries urine out of the body.
(Infectious Arthritis, NIH)
Elizabeth accepted their company, and the three young ladies set off together.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Pain is a feeling set off in the nervous system.
(Chronic Pain, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Oh, he set off the moment he had breakfasted!
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
If you are single, that solar eclipse will set off a solid possibility for you to meet someone new and especially right for you.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
So I would advise you two, to set off for town, when you are tired of Barton, without saying a word to Miss Dashwood about it.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
The genes set off production of a protein, neurogenin-3 (Ngn3); thus, generating new, healthy insulin-producing beta cells.
(Fasting-Mimicking Diet May Reverse Diabetes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
So once more the little company set off upon the journey, the Lion walking with stately strides at Dorothy's side.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
The scientists' analysis reveals that when the surface ocean is especially salty, as it was throughout 2016, strong winter storms can set off an overturning circulation.
(Data from robotic drifters explain mysterious holes in Antarctic sea ice, National Science Foundation)
When he had rested himself he set off again, driving his cow towards his mother’s village.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
