BACKPEDALED Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

backpedaled

verb

past tense of backpedal

as in backtracked

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for backpedaled

Verb

Seconds later, Flore backtracked, called the foul on the floor, then backtracked his backtrack and reverted to his initial call.

— CJ Moore, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2026

Definition of backtracked

Verb

Three others in the group — 14, 15 and 16 at the time — implicated Noling in the slayings of the Hartigs during a burglary but later retracted their statements, saying that police pressured them to name Noling as the shooter.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Only when the United States retracted those measures and agreed to further talks, in June, did China agree to resume exports of rare earths and magnets.

— GLORIA XIONG, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of retracted

Verb

In lieu of physical evidence, some witnesses gave statements against Noling during his trial, but later recanted their statements and said they were initially pressured by the prosecutor to give them, the Death Penalty Information Center says.

— CBS News, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
In addition, investigators working for Duncan’s legal team interviewed a jailhouse informant who recanted his earlier trial testimony that Duncan had confessed to the crime.

— Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 29 June 2026

Definition of recanted

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backpedaled

backpedaling

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“Backpedaled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backpedaled. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of backpedaled

verb

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