give pause
To cause to hesitate and think carefully about something, giving cause to be unsure or…To cause (someone) to hesitate and think carefully about something, giving (the person) cause to be unsure or concerned about something.
» Your words have given me pause.
Amittai · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To cause (someone) to hesitate and think carefully about something, giving (the person) cause to be unsure or concerned about something.
I was going to put up the new logo, since a majority of people like it a little better than the old one, but the ferocity of those who think it's terrible gives me pause.
Here is a fact that will give you pause: some states do not publish the voting records of their legislators.
Examples
8 sentencesYour words have given me pause.
His behaviour gave her pause for thought.
deSein Verhalten stimmte sie nachdenklich. — freddy1
They're things that really give you pause for thought.
deDas sind Dinge, die einen nachdenklich machen. — Zaghawa
The issues giving everyone pause are numerous and are largely interconnected.
It gave me pause.
deDas ließ mich zögern. — al_ex_an_der
Translations
2 languagesForms
gives pause, giving pause, gave pause, given pause| Base form | give pause · to give pause |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | gives pause |
| Present participle | giving pause |
| Past simple | gave pause |
| Past participle | given pause |
irregular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.