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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell back
Verb
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Last month, multiple musicians withdrew from the fair's kickoff because of concerns about its political affiliation, prompting Freedom 250 to rebrand it as a rally.
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As for Djokovic, the seven-time Wimbledon champ who withdrew from a pre-tournament exhibition without explanation, his draw looks like this.
Verb
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Padres left fielder Jase Bowen retreated to the ivy and made a leaping catch.
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Armand gives a recap of the events leading up to and following the Trial of season two, saying that Lestat retreated to Magnus’s tower for the latter half of the 20th century, and never reached out to Louis to expose the truth about Armand orchestrating Claudia’s murder.
Verb
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Ashcraft eventually settled in and retired the last 10 batters.
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Opener Casey Legumina retired the first four batters before Ian Seymour (4-1) took over in the second inning.
Verb
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Edge rusher Jalyx Hunt said cornerback Kelee Ringo shouted out a signal to him before the snap, and Hunt dropped back into coverage and snagged Dalton’s throw.
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The odds of the Clarity Act being passed this year have dropped back from almost 70% on the Polymarket prediction platform, falling to just over 50%.
Verb
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Room had a big game with more than a dozen saves; his wife, his wife pulled out the list of haters and went on the attack.
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The world’s second-largest consumer of crude oil, China, has pulled out all the stops to preserve supplies as the war in Iran has cut off access to more than 11 million barrels of oil per day.
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Cite this Entry
“Fell back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell%20back. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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