as in backed off
to break a promise or agreement
she backed out on her offer to help with the wedding planning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of backed out
Series star James Van Der Beek backed out last minute due to illness, but still made a surprise appearance at the event in a sweet video message for attendees and his fellow cast members.
—
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
Utah prep receiver Kai Meza backed out of his commitment to the Gophers football program on Sunday.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
The president backed out of a meeting tentatively planned for Thursday after a top Republican panned the talks.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
An opportunity arose in the second season, but Martin backed out, according to Vulture.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
On Thursday, in a unanimous vote, the Kansas City City Council voted to do away with the 130-foot height restriction on the parcel where a new Nordstrom department store had once been planned, before the company backed out in 2022.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
Quintana said some organizations and companies backed out of sponsorships or being part of the march this year.
—Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 6 Sep. 2025
By the time Sega backed out of the hardware race post-Dreamcast, Shinobi mostly limped on with a couple of 3D entries for PlayStation and Nintendo platforms before fading into obscurity.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Eight selective colleges signed on last spring to accept Dialogues portfolios as part of a pilot project, but two of them — Vanderbilt University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — backed out in July.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
Utah prep receiver Kai Meza backed out of his commitment to the Gophers football program on Sunday.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
The president backed out of a meeting tentatively planned for Thursday after a top Republican panned the talks.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
An opportunity arose in the second season, but Martin backed out, according to Vulture.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
On Thursday, in a unanimous vote, the Kansas City City Council voted to do away with the 130-foot height restriction on the parcel where a new Nordstrom department store had once been planned, before the company backed out in 2022.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
Quintana said some organizations and companies backed out of sponsorships or being part of the march this year.
—Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 6 Sep. 2025
By the time Sega backed out of the hardware race post-Dreamcast, Shinobi mostly limped on with a couple of 3D entries for PlayStation and Nintendo platforms before fading into obscurity.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Eight selective colleges signed on last spring to accept Dialogues portfolios as part of a pilot project, but two of them — Vanderbilt University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — backed out in July.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backed out
Verb
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Trump had earlier suggested Chicago could be the next target of a National Guard deployment but has since backed off out of concern that doing so without Pritzker’s agreement could create legal headache, sources familiar with the matter told CNN last month.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
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When Parsons then tried to get his agent involved before putting ink to paper, Jones backed off the deal.—
Jon Machota,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kimmel is once again on the air throughout the country now that rebellious affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair have backed down and agreed to resume airing his ABC late-night show after a weeklong standoff.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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Danford also hasn’t backed down from physical plays in ugly areas while defending.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backed out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backed%20out. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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