as in hesitated
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hung back
Verb
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The international community has not hesitated to recognize genocide in other contexts.—
Faisal Kutty,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025 -
Democrats who come off poorly in it have not hesitated to disagree with her.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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With a chance to win a three-game series at Los Angeles and make a last-minute statement, Jax faltered.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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Years later, Rick Ankiel, a Cardinals pitcher, could no longer throw strikes—yet, when he was moved to the outfield, his accuracy rarely faltered from a greater distance.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hung back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hung%20back. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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