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
The team does an organized shuffle to get things in order, and almost everyone watching with me backs away slightly.
—
Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 6 May 2026
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
Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 6 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backs away
Verb
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Wellness retreats top many travelers’ wish lists in 2026, but the price tags can be staggering.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
15 June 2026
-
Wellness retreats top the list of luxury travel trends right now, but the price tags often stretch into the thousands.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah immediately before the Israeli military ends its operations in Lebanon and withdraws its troops from dozens of villages and towns.—
Kareem Chehayeb,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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Hezbollah has vowed to fight until the war ends in Lebanon and Israel withdraws its troops who operate across large swaths of the country’s south.—
Nick Duffy,
NBC news,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills drops back to pass during the first half of the AFC Championship football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.—
Drew VonScio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
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However, Gentz continued, if one assumed About You had been part of the Zalando group last year as well, then 2025 guidance for revenue growth drops back to between 4 percent and 7 percent over the full year.—
Cathrin Schaer,
Footwear News,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When the plane’s nose falls back toward the runway, the plane catches fire and goes up in flames.—
Francie Ebert,
NBC news,
8 June 2026
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The trajectory The mission is on a flight path that keeps the spacecraft in Earth's gravitational influence past the moon, then falls back to the planet for splashdown.—
Brendan Byrne,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Social Security's trust fund helps cover the gap between the program's income and benefit obligations, which have outpaced revenue as the baby boom generation retires and the number of beneficiaries grows.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
If a star player, like a LeBron James or a Steph Curry, retires, could such a player be next in line for a Tom Brady-like TV deal with a limited schedule that includes the biggest event on the NBA calendar?—
Andrew Marchand,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backs away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backs%20away. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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