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backed away

verb

past tense of back away
as in withdrew
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) backed away from the snake very slowly and carefully

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 backed away Family offices were able to make opportunistic plays in oil and gas in the years after the Covid pandemic as traditional investors backed away from the sector due to pressure from environmentally conscious stakeholders. — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026 And the Justice Department has backed away from the federal government’s long-standing interpretation of a landmark Supreme Court ruling protecting the right of disabled people to receive services in their communities. — Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 8 Sep. 2026 Traditional fashion media may have backed away from harsh sartorial criticism, but the internet certainly hasn’t. — Derek C. Blasberg, Vanity Fair, 27 Aug. 2026 Pomares backed away, avoiding what could have become another dangerous encounter. — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026 Trump responded by threatening to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum before both sides backed away. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026 With officers initially unable to determine what had happened inside, police backed away, established a perimeter and treated the home as a barricaded situation. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Disney subsequently backed away from its demands and started to sell 30-second berths for $8 million to $9 million, according to people familiar with the talks. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026 There was no hint of trouble in weather or sky as the thirty-foot trolling boat Roamer cast off her lines, backed away from the dock, and moved out across Munising Bay. — James D. Oxley, Outdoor Life, 5 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backed away
  1. withdrew
  2. retreated
  3. retired
  4. dropped back
  5. pulled out
Verb
  • One candidate for the job, Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg, publicly withdrew from consideration last week.
    — Max Bultman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000 on opening night but withdrew from the shorter race, saying his fitness wasn't good enough for two races so close together in the wake of Achilles surgery earlier this year.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of withdrew
Verb
  • Though gas prices retreated somewhat in the late spring and early summer, the dip was short lived.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
  • After a brief standoff with the buzzing, metal alien, the bobcat carefully retreated, sidestepping into an adjacent empty room.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • After a 3-2 called third strike with two out to Conine in the ninth was overturned on the ABS review, Zeferjahn retired Otto Lopez on a flyout to right.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Bob Green, now retired, was the first detective assigned to Erica’s case.
    — Yana Johnson, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of retired
Verb
  • In his last full season in 2024, Burrow dropped back a team-record 725 times.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • With nine seconds to play, Underwood dropped back to pass, scrambled and heaved a last-ditch pass that sailed out of bounds.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of dropped back
Verb
  • On Wednesday, all of the other support acts booked for Sheeran’s tour, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe pulled out of the tour in support of Macklemore.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Suleiman Abu Hmeida, a member of the Emergency Response Rooms, said that rescuers pulled out 82 bodies by Wednesday afternoon.
    — Yasir Abdallah, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of pulled out

Browse Nearby Words

backed
backed away
backed down
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Backed away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backed%20away. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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