setting back

verb

present participle of set back
as in holding back

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for setting back
  1. holding back
  2. holding up
  3. delaying
  4. slowing
  5. holding over
  6. detaining
Verb
  • The selloff in chip stocks and AI-beneficiaries was holding back the market’s attempt at a rally.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 27 July 2026
  • Speculation swirled in March and April that the Mets were holding back to take advantage of dynamic pricing during a hopeful second-half pennant chase.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of holding back
Verb
  • Buckingham asked, holding up a bag of prescription medications.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Several Argentinian players, including Giovani Lo Celso, Lisandro Martínez and Nicolas Otamendi, were seen holding up the banner before laying it down face up on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium pitch.
    — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of holding up
Verb
  • At the same time, borrowers are reporting increasing problems and errors that are delaying or derailing their ability to maintain access to affordable repayment plan programs and student loan forgiveness.
    — Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • State lawmakers argued that schools should not be delaying reporting AI nudes until their own probes end but rather should be required to promptly tip off police, who are better positioned to investigate the crimes.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • The brakes, while cable-operated, do an effective job of slowing and stopping the Vienna.
    — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Iran struck multiple oil tankers over the past couple days, slowing strait traffic to just a handful of crossings – down from roughly 50 to 70 per day shortly after Iran and the United States signed their Memorandum of Understanding in mid-June.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of slowing
Verb
  • Landa worked with the Association to get the original project approved in 2017 after holding over 30 public meetings.
    — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
  • And moviegoers turned out to indies from Rosemead to The Chronology of Water, All That’s Left Of You and more, new and holding over, limited, wide and top ten.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Jan. 2026
Definition of holding over
Verb
  • The rapid-response unit within the Hellenic Police and the Athens Police Directorate immobilized and disarmed the suspect, detaining the individual on the scene, police said.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 21 July 2026
  • Many of them despise Trump because of what ICE has done to their communities, which includes rounding up and detaining people who are here in the country legally, many of whom were born here.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of detaining
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

setting at
setting back
setting by
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Cite this Entry

“Setting back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/setting%20back. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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