STEPPING DOWN (FROM) Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

stepping down (from)

verb

present participle of step down (from)

as in leaving

to give up (a job or office) with the advent of his 90th birthday, he could no longer resist calls for him to step down from chairmanship of the board

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in resigning

to give up (as a position of authority) formally even in the face of a palace revolt, Queen Elizabeth I refused to step down from the throne

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for stepping down (from)

Verb

Cuban independent journalists Yoani Sanchez and Camila Acosta said the police prevented them from leaving their homes to cover the trial.

— Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
But Democrats blocked them, leaving Republicans to head home to face voters without fresh legislative victories.

— Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of leaving

Verb

Because high-potency vapes drive up physical tolerance, standard quitting aids — like over-the-counter patches or nicotine gum — can sometimes feel inadequate to a user seeking immediate relief.

— Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Instead of quitting cold turkey, a growing group is carving out intentional pockets of offline time, a move that’s colliding with the analog aesthetic revival, phone-free spaces and friction tools designed to hand control back to the user.

— Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of quitting

Verb

And now, after its award-winning world premiere in the Next Wave competition at Fantastic Fest and a major screening at Zurich Film Festival, Schulman is slowly but surely relinquishing control.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
One panel was falling, then smashing on the path, lead relinquishing its long grip on the glass.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of relinquishing

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.

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stepping down

stepping down (from)

stepping in

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“Stepping down (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stepping%20down%20%28from%29. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of stepping down (from)

verb

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