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
In that interaction, forehead-to-forehead with Ayers and then slowly backing away, back to his bench, Hurley never blinked.
—
Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Rather than backing away from these practices, the administration has now publicly doubled down.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The hopes of people opposed to ICE’s plans rested on the property owners of the warehouses backing away from the deals — but that has failed to happen.
—Lautaro Grinspan, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Finally, the city is now backing away from its idea to charge to drive into Mission Bay Park and is instead looking at other options for solving its budget crisis.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
In a nation backing away from previous diversity commitments, there is little societal pressure for NFL owners to be better.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
At least six city councilors, Culpepper, Ed Flynn, Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy and Brian Worrell, swiftly issued statements or wrote to Wu administration officials expressing concern about backing away from prior commitments made to the majority-Black and brown community.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Rather than backing away from these practices, the administration has now publicly doubled down.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The hopes of people opposed to ICE’s plans rested on the property owners of the warehouses backing away from the deals — but that has failed to happen.
—Lautaro Grinspan, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Finally, the city is now backing away from its idea to charge to drive into Mission Bay Park and is instead looking at other options for solving its budget crisis.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
In a nation backing away from previous diversity commitments, there is little societal pressure for NFL owners to be better.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
At least six city councilors, Culpepper, Ed Flynn, Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy and Brian Worrell, swiftly issued statements or wrote to Wu administration officials expressing concern about backing away from prior commitments made to the majority-Black and brown community.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing away
Verb
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Daines later said withdrawing earlier could have enticed a prominent Democrat like Tester to enter the race.—
Kirk Siegler,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Chock and Bates decided not to pursue a fourth straight ice dance world championship, joining Olympic teammate Alysa Liu in withdrawing from the worlds, a common decision for skaters who compete at the Winter Games.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ndiaye also declined to clear the ball, instead trying to thread a pass to retreating teammate Jake Dengler inside the 18-yard box.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Police said security footage from the store shows customers staring and retreating before 53-year-old Tammy Canut of North Huntingdon walks into the frame naked.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tuesday will be noticeably cooler, with highs falling back into the 40s and low 50s and drier conditions returning late.—
Joseph Dames,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Blue light suppresses melatonin and makes falling back asleep significantly harder.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Michigan and Illinois met in the semifinals in 1989, with the Wolverines pulling out a two-point win in a game that featured 33 lead changes.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Clearly, Jenner is known for pulling out all the stops for Halloween.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Longhorns are the one team in the Final Four that has had a two-game losing streak, dropping back-to-back games to LSU and South Carolina in mid-January.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Last week, the quarterback shared a video of himself dropping back to throw on his official Instagram account.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Conner Phillips walked Marcell Ozuna and Ryan O'Hearn before retiring three straight for his first career save.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Since retiring from a 25-year career in the Army in 2016, Bennett has been active in local government, first serving as the chief innovation officer for the City of Kansas City until 2019.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20away. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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