1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

setting back

verb

present participle of set back
as in holding back

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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
  • Shailene Woodley’s stylist isn’t holding back after the actress’s Emmys look caused a stir on social media.
    — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Logs can do the job of beaver dams holding back and spreading a stream.
    — Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of holding back
Verb
  • With his unkempt hair and ragamuffin clothing — was that a rope holding up his pants?
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Among the black-and-white pictures are images of the couple holding up ultrasound photos, while another shows Nathan placing his hand on Charlotte’s baby bump.
    — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of holding up
Verb
  • The fight, Haro said, is about more than extending a lease or delaying an eviction.
    — Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Shrinking resources and the accompanying uncertainty is delaying medical research and threatening progress towards finding cures, the team behind Proposition 38 said.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • But Clemson reeled the Tar Heels back in, slowing down a rushing attack led by Benjamin Hall (130 rushing yards) and making quarterback Billy Edwards, by the end, look flustered and out of sorts.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The outbreak has shown signs of slowing since, but experts caution that the recovery may be patchwork.
    — Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of slowing
Verb
  • There are more than 300 such foundations across the country, holding over $40 billion in assets, according to Grantmakers In Health (paywall).
    — Laura MacDonald, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of holding over
Verb
  • Police surrounded the demonstrators outside the Caglayan courthouse before detaining them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Nearly 500 federal, state and local officers descended on the sprawling plant, detaining 475 workers, mostly South Koreans.
    — Hanna Park, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Setting back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/setting%20back. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All