halt

I

v

1. stop, come to a stop or a stand, cast anchor, brake, draw reign, (of an automobile) pull over, (of a ship) lie to, stop short, stop dead in one's tracks, stall or stall out, stand still, balk; draw or pull up, hold up, wait or wait up, stay, mark time.

2. arrest, bring to a stop or halt, check, stem, curb; terminate, end, bring to an end or close, quell, quash, crush, nip in the bud, put an end to, break up; block, blockade, obstruct, frustrate, foil, thwart, hinder, impede, clip one's wings, hold back, restrain.

3. cease, desist, cease and desist, discontinue, leave off, quit, call it a day, Inf. knock off, Inf. call it quits, hang up one's tools, shut down, close down; come to an end, finish up, conclude, draw to a close, run its course; pause, take a break or breather, break off, lapse.

n

4. stop, stoppage cessation, desistance, discontinuance, stay, standstill; pause, interval, interlude, intermission, break, hiatus, Prosody. caesura; recess, rest, respite, breather, breathing spell or space, time-out.

II

v

1. falter, hesitate, pause; stammer, stutter, sputter, splutter, speak brokenly; stumble, trip, flounder, stagger, bumble, fumble, hobble, wobble.

2. boggle, scruple, have qualms or misgivings, be uncertain or unsure, be in doubt; think twice, take another look, linger over, be indecisive, be betwixt and between, not know one's own mind, get bogged down or lost in, be at sea; waver, fluctuate, sway, vacillate, tergiversate, shift, swing, shuffle, shilly-shally, seesaw, straddle the fence, go back and forth, be of two minds; equivocate, skirt, hedge, evade the issue, beat around the bush, hem and haw, hem, haw, mutter, mumble, hum, Scot, and North Eng. haver, Brit. Dial. mam-mer; delay, play for time, Inf. stall.