Meaning of time stands still | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Used to emphasize a moment in time that is either catastrophic or even enjoyable in which one's sense of time is frozen or suspended.
2. Used to state that something, especially a place, has an archaic, anachronistic or historic feeling.

Examples

“Life without love is load; and time stands still; what we refuse to him, to Death we give, And then, then only, when we love, we live.”

“Each long moment seems a day, time stands still, when she's away.”

“When one event is continuous, time stands still; for we form no idea of time by the presence or continuance of a single event but we do so by the change of other events at the time.”

“In a good wild high-mountain storm, it would be a majestic ride through heaven and hell, a time-stands-still trip in a region of pure awe and undiluted fear.”

“[…] unconsciously and innocently succumb to the timeless paganism of a country where time stands still and the ancient ways of humanity know nothing about stock markets and finance capitalism.”

“Travel by luxurious jet to a town where time stands still and the houses are festooned with bright streamers for the ancient Summer Star festival. Stay in a 17th-century ryokan (inn) and enjoy ham and eggs for breakfast.”

“If your visit to the time-stands-still village of Metsovo - high in the snowy mountains a couple of hours' drive due west of Kalambaka - is at Easter, you're in for a succession of special treats[…]”

“Every year since this bicentennial event, the batteaux have raced from Lynchburg to Richmond, easily slipping from one century back into another for a few glorious days when time stands still.”

“Time stands still in this quiet little spot, with its quaint old-fashioned decor, swathes of lace and brown table linen.”

“Inside the smallest and plainest of the trio, a time-stands-still kind of sight awaits—different-sized gaskets hang from hooks on the wall, waiting patiently for more than half a century to be placed on machinery long gone.”

“I need a small Tuscan village where time stands still, where creativity can unfurl and my own soul can breathe.”

CEFR level