FALLING BACK Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

falling back

verb

present participle of fall back

as in retreating

to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) resistance from native forces was greater than expected, and the invading army was forced to fall back

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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 falling back Chuck reveled in calling himself the mayor of the townsite, including its numerous log cabins, all in various states of falling back to the earth. —

Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 3 June 2026 Lee also had a solid showing at last week’s CIF Southern Section Individual Final, quickly getting to 2 under and staying near the top of the leaderboard before falling back to even par to finish in a tie for 26th place. —

Matt Wagner, Daily News, 29 May 2026 MacKinnon crumpled to the ice in pain after blocking the shot, briefly getting to one knee and clearing the puck out of the defensive zone before falling back to the ice. —

Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026 After a couple of minutes, the booster separated with Starship, falling back to Earth to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico as planned a few minutes later. —

Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 22 May 2026 Roth told me about growing above criticism and falling back in love with Divergent. —

Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 12 May 2026 The price of the international benchmark for oil, Brent crude, rose to more than $126 a barrel at one point overnight — the highest since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — before falling back to around $114 a barrel early Thursday. —

Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 30 Apr. 2026 Baker either avoided directly answering any questions related to the Massachusetts political arena, falling back on his new role at the NCAA for taking him away from the Bay State. —

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026 The Citi team, led by Max Layton and Francisco Martoccia, would then see Brent crude prices averaging around $110 this quarter before falling back to $80 in the fourth quarter. —

Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for falling back

Verb

Haiti continues to stand before far larger powers — culturally, economically, politically — without retreating.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 May 2026
The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026