as in withdrew
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 backed away
Firefighters arrived several minutes after the blaze began, but backed away after a few protesters blocked their truck from reaching the loading dock.
—
Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
In some cases, extra vigilance means that faculty have backed away from initial commitments.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 30 Jan. 2026
The other officers have all backed away at this point.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The federal government has backed away from its plan to garnish the wages of those in default on their student loans.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
Strategy — The bitcoin treasury firm gained more than 3% after MSCI backed away from its plan to remove digital asset treasury companies from MSCI Indexes.
—Darla Mercado, Cfp®,liz Napolitano, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2026
Spotify has long backed away from wanting to fully own and operate its own shows, finding more value in serving as a tech, monetization, and distribution platform for podcasters.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
McIlroy backed away, drawing jeers, before Lowry came over to settle him.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Benson, however, remained hesitant and eventually fully backed away.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
In some cases, extra vigilance means that faculty have backed away from initial commitments.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 30 Jan. 2026
The other officers have all backed away at this point.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The federal government has backed away from its plan to garnish the wages of those in default on their student loans.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
Strategy — The bitcoin treasury firm gained more than 3% after MSCI backed away from its plan to remove digital asset treasury companies from MSCI Indexes.
—Darla Mercado, Cfp®,liz Napolitano, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2026
Spotify has long backed away from wanting to fully own and operate its own shows, finding more value in serving as a tech, monetization, and distribution platform for podcasters.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
McIlroy backed away, drawing jeers, before Lowry came over to settle him.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Benson, however, remained hesitant and eventually fully backed away.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backed away
Verb
-
That case was a bust and California withdrew its own lawsuit in December.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The teacher initially submitted his resignation but later that day withdrew it before the school board had an opportunity to take action, according to the statement.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Keller then challenged him to a fight and the student retreated into the hall.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Mohr wrote the 12 songs on Carve over the course of five years, and eventually retreated to the rural Mojave Desert to properly record them.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Presburger, who retired last Friday after 35 years of teaching at El Camino Real High, brought about 15,000 pins to Italy for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, requiring three hefty suitcases.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Kovach's appointment as the city's new fire chief comes following the retirement of former chief Jeffrey Tomovcsik, who served as a McKeesport firefighter for more than 20 years and retired late last year.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes dropped back to throw on 4th-and-short, but the Texans covered his primary target out of the backfield.—
Sam McDowell
January 23,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The cryptocurrency rose above $96,000 late last week but has dropped back to around $89,700.—
Damian J. Troise,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Maloney allegedly told Bocaya he had been harassed by police, then pulled out a knife with a 4-inch blade and repeatedly stabbed the off-duty officer in the neck and upper torso, prosecutors said.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
But as the Power Station were about to launch their tour later that year, Palmer surprisingly pulled out and was replaced by actor-singer Michael Des Barres, formerly of the band Detective.—
David Chiu,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backed away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backed%20away. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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