as in holds back
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for sets back
Verb
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Samsung traditionally holds back one color in the Galaxy S range to be a web exclusive and drive consumers to its website, although typically this is one of the standard black or grey colors.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026 -
The hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam that holds back Lake Powell serves more than 350,000 homes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Verb
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McDowell isn’t convinced the comparison holds up.—
Chris Stokel-Walker,
Scientific American,
12 June 2026
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That show really holds up, though.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Likewise, if a player deliberately delays a throw-in, the opposing team could be given the throw-in instead.—
Russell Lewis,
NPR,
12 June 2026
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This can make conversations feel heavier, delays more frustrating and feedback harder to digest.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
Verb
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The May 2026 review in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found no convincing causal evidence that weight cycling itself permanently slows metabolism or causes long-term harm in people with obesity.—
Allison Palmer
Updated June 13,
Miami Herald,
13 June 2026
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Skin longevity is having a moment as fresh 2025 and 2026 research clarifies what actually slows visible aging and what is marketing noise.—
Allison Palmer
Updated June 13,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Remove dead or damaged branches, and cut back any woody stems below the damage to a set of healthy leaves.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
8 June 2026
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In these spaces, ticks often wait on the tips of grass blades, plant stems, and tree branches with their front legs ready to grasp onto any host that happens to brush by or walk under overhanging foliage.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 June 2026
Verb
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Or a delivery truck that blocks a driver's view at a busy corner.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
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The decision effectively blocks foreign governments, businesses, researchers, and individuals, as well as foreign nationals residing in the US, from using the company’s latest AI systems.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Pace’s pass-rush potential keeps him in the fold, but Flores prefers not to play him on passing downs.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
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The microbe lives under the eyelid and keeps producing the anti-inflammatory protein over time.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Alligator Alcatraz houses a few hundred employees in trailers and detains about 650 male immigrants in large tents; until a few weeks ago, the number of those being detained was nearly 1,500.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
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What are your rights if ICE detains you?—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Sets back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sets%20back. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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