switch off
informal— phrasal verb with switch uk/swɪtʃ/us/swɪtʃ/verb [ T, I usually + adv/prep ]
to stop giving your attention to someone or something:
If he gets bored, he just switches off and looks out the window.
More examples
- The talk lasted for ages, and eventually I just switched off.
- Many people in stressful jobs find it difficult to switch off when they come home.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not paying attention
- absent
- absent-minded
- absently
- abstracted
- anyhow
- be having a moment idiom
- blind
- drop/lower your guard idiom
- faraway
- glaze
- go back to sleep! idiom
- hasty
- moment
- not take a blind bit of notice idiom
- perfunctory
- remiss
- sideline
- slapdash
- sloppy
- wander
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