as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
she hung back in offering her opinion about her daughter's career choices because it wasn't her business
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hang back
But the congestion around National Airport, one of the country’s busiest public airspaces, requires particular adeptness and a willingness to hang back if necessary to let passenger jets take off or land safely.
—
Mark Walker, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025
Pick up a few of the travel prints and turn them into a series to frame and hang back home.
—Lane Nieset, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Devine kept Bunny on a leash, hanging back a safe distance.
—Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
But many of those demonstrators have since hung back, owing to political exhaustion.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Mark Walker, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025
Pick up a few of the travel prints and turn them into a series to frame and hang back home.
—Lane Nieset, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Devine kept Bunny on a leash, hanging back a safe distance.
—Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
But many of those demonstrators have since hung back, owing to political exhaustion.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hang back
Verb
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Understanding why companies hesitate, and knowing how to work around it, gives you an edge.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Tickets are going fast for this panel, so don’t hesitate to secure your spot.—
Lorraine Berry,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Musk’s comments about his time allotment come just hours after a group of eight Democratic state treasurers wrote to the chair of Tesla’s board about the company’s faltering performance.—
Miranda Nazzaro,
The Hill,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Business Drama: Volatility, Strategy, and Turnaround What followed was a decade of operational rework—sometimes faltering, sometimes brilliant.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hang back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hang%20back. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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