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
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
The nomination signals Trump is backing away from promises to eliminate FEMA, as Hamilton joins a beleaguered agency depleted by staff departures and a 75-day DHS shutdown.
—Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Los Angeles Times, 12 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
Her announcement touched off a new round of progressive candidates backing away from the Iron Dome.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
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
The nomination signals Trump is backing away from promises to eliminate FEMA, as Hamilton joins a beleaguered agency depleted by staff departures and a 75-day DHS shutdown.
—Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Los Angeles Times, 12 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
Her announcement touched off a new round of progressive candidates backing away from the Iron Dome.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing away
Verb
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Trump has also floated the possibility of withdrawing from NATO and threatened to pull troops from Germany, Italy, and Spain.—
Tiago Ventura,
Time,
8 May 2026
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Trump’s Gaza plan, which Israel and Hamas agreed to in October, involves Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza and reconstruction starting as Hamas lays down its weapons.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
Verb
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That deadlock prompted an unusually long recess of nearly 90 minutes that was followed by a 6-0 vote in favor of retreating on the bus stops.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Many of them have been linked to retreating glaciers, as melting ice destabilizes the mountains and land that had been covered for centuries.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Roth told me about growing above criticism and falling back in love with Divergent.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
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The price of the international benchmark for oil, Brent crude, rose to more than $126 a barrel at one point overnight — the highest since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — before falling back to around $114 a barrel early Thursday.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The teams met twice this season, with CCA pulling out wins of 10-8 and 9-9 and winning the overall games, 87 to 79.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 May 2026
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Charged with pulling out of Mary the hurt inside, Coel exquisitely performs the task with the precision of an elite surgeon.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When opening an app, the CPU would spike to 96% before dropping back to more pedestrian 17% usage after a couple of seconds.—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
8 May 2026
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The Padres won the final two games in San Francisco to win the series, their first after dropping back-to-back series to the Cubs and White Sox.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Verb
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The plan also describes major changes to the fleet, such as adding many autonomous ships, buying new submarines, and retiring older aircraft carriers and submarines.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
12 May 2026
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While the San Francisco 49ers rookies practiced Friday, Williams was busy on the far north side of the field, doing side-to-side movements and working with resistance bands for 35 minutes before retiring to the team’s weight room.—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20away. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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