FELL BACK Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

fell back

verb

past tense of fall back

as in withdrew

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell back

Verb

Fritz advanced to the final in 2024, but was defeated by Jannik Sinner (who just withdrew from the 2026 US Open with a knee injury) at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

— Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
In 2024, the DSA’s national political committee withdrew its conditional endorsement of her reelection, citing disagreements over Israel and Gaza, among other issues.

— Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of withdrew

Verb

First Up Shares of Moderna retreated by nearly 24% Thursday on the heels of their record-setting 176% stock surge, which was prompted by promising news of their personalized cancer vaccine.

— Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Some still laden with weapons, the ships belonged to Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet that was deliberately sunk near the end of the war as German troops retreated from Romania and Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of retreated

Verb

Muriel Gonzalez, president of The Vitamin Shoppe, has retired from the health and wellness specialty chain , WWD has learned.

— David Moin, Footwear News, 23 Aug. 2026
His work complete, Gorman retired with Brind’Amour’s blessing and is now figuring out what’s next.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of retired

Verb

The 24-year-old Italian pulled out of this week’s Cincinnati Open with the same issue, and has been undergoing medical tests in Milan and Turin throughout August to assess its severity.

— James Hansen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Defender Maxwell Woledzi scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time and MLS-leading Nashville SC pulled out a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of pulled out

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.

Browse Nearby Words

fell away

fell back

fell back on

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fell back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell%20back. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fell back

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

cogent

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes