as in retreats
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 backs away
Jones then slows down to a walk as Prignano backs away.
—
Kellie Love, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
In instances when an agent approaches, a patroller typically backs away while recording the interaction, video footage posted to Union del Barrio’s YouTube page shows.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
The officer in the black beanie backs away with his gun drawn, though pointed down.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
Videos show an officer, who is hovering over the scuffle with his right hand on Pretti’s back, backs away from the group with what appears to be a gun in his right hand just before the first shot.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
Those detours foreshadowed Paris, where the styling again backs away from surface-level pink and redistributes it to the interior.
—Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 8 Nov. 2025
Willow begins to whimper, and backs away from the door—but sits promptly down, still staring at it.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Finally, the board will have the good sense to just snap their host laptop shut, but not before a wickedly riotous 10 minutes or so in which absolutely no one backs away from the keyboard.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
At first, the bison ignores him, but eventually approaches the man, who quickly backs away to keep a safe distance.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Kellie Love, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
In instances when an agent approaches, a patroller typically backs away while recording the interaction, video footage posted to Union del Barrio’s YouTube page shows.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
The officer in the black beanie backs away with his gun drawn, though pointed down.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
Videos show an officer, who is hovering over the scuffle with his right hand on Pretti’s back, backs away from the group with what appears to be a gun in his right hand just before the first shot.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
Those detours foreshadowed Paris, where the styling again backs away from surface-level pink and redistributes it to the interior.
—Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 8 Nov. 2025
Willow begins to whimper, and backs away from the door—but sits promptly down, still staring at it.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Finally, the board will have the good sense to just snap their host laptop shut, but not before a wickedly riotous 10 minutes or so in which absolutely no one backs away from the keyboard.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
At first, the bison ignores him, but eventually approaches the man, who quickly backs away to keep a safe distance.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backs away
Verb
-
But the novel ultimately retreats from these complicating questions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
-
But the novel ultimately retreats from these complicating questions.—
Sarah Chihaya,
New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
If the Pentagon withdraws support, the Scouts would have to scramble to replace medical care, transportation and other emergency services.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Antonio Delgado withdraws from New York governor race after Mamdani backs Hochul.—
,
FOXNews.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The 54-year-old comedian with a beard full of gray stubble drops back to pass, launching a tight spiral underneath SoFi’s massive technicolor halo scoreboard hovering above a sea of empty stands.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on November 16, 2025.—
Jesse Sarles,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This means people will lose an hour of sleep, but daylight hours also will increase in Indiana until the clock falls back again in early November.—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
7 Mar. 2026
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In the process of watering the seed in, some of the loose soil dredged up by the disks falls back into the slits, covering the seed.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Colleen retires this month as the executive director and general counsel of the Freedom of Information Commission, hanging up her battle gear.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
-
It has also been used when a player retires at a young age without getting an unconditional release, but then returns to playing.—
Ed Guzman,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backs away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backs%20away. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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