as in withdrawing
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 backing away
Trump’s favorite hometown newspaper — backing away from his previous support of the filibuster.
—
Thomas Beaumont, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
Moreover, DeSantis isn’t backing away from his support for Bell.
—Gray Rohrer, Sun Sentinel, 22 May 2026
Caulfield said, backing away from the lectern and looking to the other university leaders on stage at UCF’s arena.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026
The Guardians aren’t backing away from him in the leadoff spot.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Trump is showing no sign of backing away from any of the projects.
—Steven Sloan, Fortune, 9 May 2026
But Sanchez’s administration isn’t backing away from its call for an audit.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Stanford is backing away from a program designed to support teachers of color after accusations of racial discrimination led to a federal investigation announced this week.
—Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
But de La Faverie is not backing away from the human touch.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Thomas Beaumont, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
Moreover, DeSantis isn’t backing away from his support for Bell.
—Gray Rohrer, Sun Sentinel, 22 May 2026
Caulfield said, backing away from the lectern and looking to the other university leaders on stage at UCF’s arena.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026
The Guardians aren’t backing away from him in the leadoff spot.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Trump is showing no sign of backing away from any of the projects.
—Steven Sloan, Fortune, 9 May 2026
But Sanchez’s administration isn’t backing away from its call for an audit.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Stanford is backing away from a program designed to support teachers of color after accusations of racial discrimination led to a federal investigation announced this week.
—Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
But de La Faverie is not backing away from the human touch.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing away
Verb
-
Carlos Alcaraz isn’t in the tournament after withdrawing because of a wrist injury.—
Dan Zaksheske,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
-
Depending on the circumstances, you may be restricted from withdrawing funds, making purchases with your debit card, transferring money or paying bills.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Haiti continues to stand before far larger powers — culturally, economically, politically — without retreating.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2026
-
The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
MacKinnon initially crumpled to the ice in pain after blocking the shot, briefly getting to one knee and clearing the puck out of the defensive zone before falling back to the ice.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
-
After a couple of minutes, the booster separated with Starship, falling back to Earth to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico as planned a few minutes later.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
When Krick and Stagg enter the command boardroom to present their opposing cases mere hours before a decision must be made, the film slips into a type of courtroom drama of stormy exchanges from the benches, with both Stagg and Krick pulling out all the stops to get their forecasts approved.—
Daniel Jonah Wolpert,
NPR,
29 May 2026
-
Unsurprisingly, given the scale and scope of the tournament, and the stage hosting in the US offers, FIFA is pulling out all the entertainment stops.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Vingegaard, in his first day in the pink jersey, alongside Jayco AlUla’s Ben O’Connor and Lidl-Trek’s home hero Giulio Ciccone led discussions with the commissaires, with the Dane dropping back to the organisers’ car with 50km (31 miles) remaining to lead discussions.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
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The descent comes by bicycle, dropping back through emerald rice terraces and village lanes as the island wakes up around you.—
Ritu Upadhyay,
Footwear News,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
The owner, Tom Furrier, was retiring after 45 years, closing up shop, and selling off the last of his stock.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Twelve Democrats are competing to replace Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring after five terms.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20away. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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