as in to withdraw
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable)
backed away from the snake very slowly and carefully
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Recent Examples of back away
Imagine your legs being pulled out and back away from your hips.
—
Health Editorial Team, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
After backing away from a controversial logo rebrand loudly opposed by many right-wing influencers, Cracker Barrel also quietly made changes to its website this week.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
But the proper response to that difficulty isn’t to back away.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Once Kefalos backed away, her dog put herself under the bed and started running around again.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Health Editorial Team, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
After backing away from a controversial logo rebrand loudly opposed by many right-wing influencers, Cracker Barrel also quietly made changes to its website this week.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
But the proper response to that difficulty isn’t to back away.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Once Kefalos backed away, her dog put herself under the bed and started running around again.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back away
Verb
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Duncan even contemplated mounting a third-party challenge to Trump as a No Labels candidate last year before withdrawing his name from consideration.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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The Biden administration had weighed withdrawing antitrust immunity for the joint venture, which began in 2016.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And if the Fed ends up cutting fewer times than traders expect, including three this year, the market could retreat in disappointment.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
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One deputy retreated while two of them fired their guns, hitting Williams and Lane, authorities said.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Troopers saw open bottles of alcohol in the Equinox and Tipantuna Quinchiguano, who would regain consciousness and quickly fall back to sleep, had bloodshot and glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
16 Sep. 2025
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Platforms should be cloud-first but also able to fall back to on-prem.—
Amit S Phadnis,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Maxwell pitched a scoreless, and then Connor Phillips, a relative veteran with 18 big-league appearances on his resume, worked around a walk to retire the top of the Padres’ order and earned the win following Tyler Stephenson’s homer.—
C. Trent Rosecrans,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Rutherford, who retired in 2021 but previously worked with Barth on certain programs, said Barth’s expertise was particularly useful in dealing with challenges that most people don’t fully consider.—
Nathan Ansell,
Arkansas Online,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some backups go through every tiny detail of the pre and at-snap routine, even dropping back with a ball in their hand but stopping short of throwing it.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Denver’s late fourth-quarter play-call was the most obvious head-scratcher of any decision against the Titans, as Nix dropped back and fired off an incomplete go-ball to Marvin Mims on a fourth-and-eight with a minute left.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20away. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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