as in to withdraw
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable)
backed away from the snake very slowly and carefully
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Recent Examples of back away
This delay could provide the administration with an opportunity to back away from its campaign promises without losing face.
—
Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Monday, hours before the tariffs were to take effect, Trump backed away, agreeing to pause the tariffs for a month, pending negotiations with both cross-border partners.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2025
When, after a succession of such incidents, Mahler-Werfel backed away, Kokoschka’s mania only escalated.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Relax your shoulders down and back away from your ears.
—Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Monday, hours before the tariffs were to take effect, Trump backed away, agreeing to pause the tariffs for a month, pending negotiations with both cross-border partners.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2025
When, after a succession of such incidents, Mahler-Werfel backed away, Kokoschka’s mania only escalated.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Relax your shoulders down and back away from your ears.
—Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back away
Verb
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The survey also found that while more than half of Russians said the war had a mostly negative effect on their daily lives, compared to five months ago, fewer people supported Putin withdrawing troops without achieving the war's goals.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
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Another clash is set to play out at the U.N. on Monday after the U.S. proposed a competing resolution that lacks the same demands as one from Ukraine and the European Union for Moscow’s forces to immediately withdraw from the country.—
Matthew Lee and Aamer Madhani,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With their press broken, Newcastle had to retreat to their 5-4-1 shape but became fatigued making so many recovery runs.—
Liam Tharme,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
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The initiative follows widespread backlash against major retailers and corporations accused of retreating from DEI commitments after the Trump administration took steps to dismantle federal DEI programs.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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And the operating income fell back to $ 129 million, against a year-earlier $404 million.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Feb. 2025
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Shiffrin generally falls back on her desire to drive her sport to new heights and inspire the next generation.—
Matthew Futterman,
The Athletic,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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And the elevator breaks down sometimes, and then nobody can retire.—
Antonia Hitchens,
The New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2025
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There is now a four-to-three liberal majority on the court, but Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a liberal who has sat on the court since 1995, is retiring, putting the court’s majority on the ballot.—
Theodore Schleifer,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Adult cougar population estimates hovered just under 2,000 in 2004, slowly climbed to just below 3,000 between 2014 and 2018, and dropped back to around 2,500 recently, according to a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources datasheet.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
13 Feb. 2025
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Chloe Kim drops back in after break Chloe Kim has taken a full season off from competition after each of her Olympic halfpipe titles in 2018 and 2022, and each time quickly returned to the top of snowboarding.—
Nick Zaccardi,
NBC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20away. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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