BACKPEDAL Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

backpedal

verb

Definition of backpedal

as in to backtrack

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of backpedal Pope Francis and Buttigieg both backpedaled after Jewish leaders expressed concerns. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 6 May 2026 In follow-up interviews, Grede has declined to backpedal. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026 Facing pressure from New England, Jarrett Stidham was backpedaling on third down and tried to throw a chest pass. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 25 Jan. 2026 Quarterback Bo Nix, in a sight much too frequent in the 19-3 win, was left to backpedal for his life and loft a duck of an incompletion. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for backpedal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backpedal

Verb

Weeks later, McCollough would backtrack, becoming defensive when Colleen asked her how the conversation with Watts went.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
The scheduled vote on whether to backtrack the May decision follows intense backlash from national public safety leaders and police unions as violence makes headlines in the Greater Boston Area, including the mass shooting on Memorial Drive.

— Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of backtrack

Verb

The paper, which was later retracted, helped fuel concerns about the safety of vaccines and drive down vaccination rates.

— TODD WALLACK THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
Experiments that initially corroborated the results were retracted, in one case amid indications of deliberate spiking with fake fusion products.

— George Musser, Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of retract

Verb

Duke confessed to Grinstead’s murder but later recanted Shortly before his arrest in 2017, investigators claimed that Duke confessed to killing the teacher in a voluntary interview.

— Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2026
The film includes a riveting scene where the exonerated men — Ransom Watkins, Andrew Stewart, and Alfred Chestnut – meet face-to-face with a man who recanted his testimony that had helped convict the trio decades earlier.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of recant

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backpacks

backpedal

backpedaled

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Style

“Backpedal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backpedal. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of backpedal

verb

Example Sentences

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