HANDS-OFF Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

hands-off

adjective

Definition of hands-off

as in autonomous

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hands-off Crawford, however, was surprisingly hands-off when Gerber and her brother, Presley, decided to pursue modeling. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026 The public is increasingly skeptical of allowing the AI industry to govern itself, which is pushing legislators to rethink their hands-off approach, even as AI money pours like Niagara Falls into elections. — Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026 The auto-docking and LiDAR mapping features make hands-off cleaning easy. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 20 July 2026 Many states take a hands-off approach, essentially leaving it to you to figure out if a school has problems. — Mollie Simon, ProPublica, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for hands-off

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hands-off

Adjective

The partnership combines Saildrone’s experience operating autonomous vessels in remote maritime environments with Lockheed Martin’s expertise in weapons, sensors, combat systems and mission integration.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026
As men, women and children flooded across the border between Morocco and Spain, into the autonomous city of Ceuta at the end of July, European populists and anti-immigrant politicians capitalized on the shocking images of human desperation.

— Vasco Cotovio, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of autonomous

Adjective

Authorities have opened roughly 10 criminal cases against independent journalists and popular bloggers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
One of the loudest voices in the cattle world agitating against the border reopening is Bill Bullard, the CEO of R-CALF, a national association of independent cattle and sheep farmers.

— Max Saltman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of independent

Adjective

And Secrets suspects that a younger, noninterventionist crowd would have boosted Vance’s numbers.

— Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 30 Mar. 2026
Does the beginning of this war tell us anything meaningful about the long-running battle between the interventionist and noninterventionist wings of American conservativism?

— Suzanne Schneider, The New York Review of Books, 25 Mar. 2026

Definition of noninterventionist

Adjective

Russia has been able to weather Western sanctions largely by ramping up trade with nonaligned countries, particularly India and China.

— Tristan Bove, Fortune, 30 June 2026
These are hedging strategies adapted to today’s more fragmented international order, while the older divide separated aligned states from nonaligned states.

— Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 4 June 2026

Definition of nonaligned

Adjective

Gartner expects sovereign-cloud spending to reach $80 billion in 2026, with a fifth of workloads shifting from global providers to local ones.

— Bora Unlu, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
SpaceX could emerge as a serious competitor, while sovereign wealth funds such as Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Abu Dhabi’s MGX combine cheap capital, abundant power and the flexibility to work with both western and Chinese AI companies.

— Amit Joshi, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of sovereign

Adjective

This will be an entirely different election with a vastly higher turnout and many more unaffiliated voters who don’t belong to any party.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Torrey Snow is a member of The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, the former host of the Torrey Snow Program on WBAL and an unaffiliated Maryland voter.

— Yuripzy Morgan, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of unaffiliated

Browse Nearby Words

hands in

hands-off

handsome

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“Hands-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hands-off. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of hands-off

adjective

Example Sentences

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