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
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
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
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On this occasion, Joao Pedro retreats into midfield dragging his marker, Forest centre-back Morato, out of position to track him.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
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Wilks retreats to the front of his vehicle before briefly emerging and the officer then lets off a second round of gunfire.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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If a parent later withdraws permission, the app developer must be notified to disable access.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Oct. 2025
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The surgeon withdraws the balloon and then squeezes the implant in through a sterile funnel before closing the incision.—
Jolene Edgar,
Allure,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The pump should turn off after the water level drops back down.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
17 Oct. 2025
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With Leverkusen’s front players focused on stopping progression into Gravenberch, Jones drops back to receive from Alexander-Arnold.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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By waiving Achiuwa before the start of the regular season, the Heat falls back under the luxury tax threshold.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
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Even if Showgirl falls back tonight and comes out in the high $20Ms (no one is expecting that number), so what?—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Five candidates seek Tennessee Supreme Court seat Five candidates have applied to fill the vacancy on Tennessee’s Supreme Court that will be created when Justice Holly Kirby retires on June 30, the Administrative Office of the Courts announced this week.—
Vivian Jones,
Nashville Tennessean,
24 Oct. 2025
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The day will one day come when Mahomes retires from the NFL, although that won’t be anytime soon.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backs away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backs%20away. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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