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
And yet the Republican administration and its congressional allies are showing no signs of caving to Democratic demands or backing away from threats to use the opportunity to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.
—
Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
Video showed the man backing away from Sanchez, who stands 6-feet-2-inches, before the former quarterback followed then ran after the man, grabbing and throwing him toward the wall of the Westin, another downtown hotel, police wrote in the affidavit.
—IndyStar, 6 Oct. 2025
Sometimes the animal will also become stiff due to stress or roll up into a ball and back away from people.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 29 Sep. 2025
McIlroy backed away, drawing jeers, before Lowry came over to settle him.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
Video showed the man backing away from Sanchez, who stands 6-feet-2-inches, before the former quarterback followed then ran after the man, grabbing and throwing him toward the wall of the Westin, another downtown hotel, police wrote in the affidavit.
—IndyStar, 6 Oct. 2025
Sometimes the animal will also become stiff due to stress or roll up into a ball and back away from people.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 29 Sep. 2025
McIlroy backed away, drawing jeers, before Lowry came over to settle him.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back away
Verb
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Per Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel of ESPN, the University of Michigan and Moore appealed the case but have since withdrawn their appeals.—
Jordan Sigler,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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The South American country withdrew visa-free access in April in response to the three countries barring Brazilian passport holders from visa-free access.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the example below from their 2-1 win over Girona, Barcelona man-mark the opposition midfielders but Fermin Lopez’s passive positioning allows a pass into retreating centre-forward Portu.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Teddy demands that Michelle take him and Don to her Andromedan leader in the hope of forcing the invaders to retreat.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The median home price in the greater Boston area surpassed $1 million in June before falling back under that threshold again.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
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Bye This isn’t so much the Gators moving up in the vibes as the next team falling back.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Jackson, 67, announced plans to retire from performing due to the disease, with his final show scheduled for June 2026.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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What started as a weekend hobby quickly grew into a full-fledged business, and Molski, who has since retired from healthcare sales, couldn't be happier to spend his weekends hunting and restoring vintage pieces.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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McNeill dropped back and scrambled for a few seconds before finding Kash Kelly in the end zone for a touchdown.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
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With space, Alejado dropped back and quickly spotted another wide-open target, Nick Cenacle.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20away. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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