as in withdrawing
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 backing away
Her announcement touched off a new round of progressive candidates backing away from the Iron Dome.
—
Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Video footage from the apartment complex showed Kirkland speaking to several people in the Jeep before backing away and collapsing, the court document said.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026
In that interaction, forehead-to-forehead with Ayers and then slowly backing away, back to his bench, Hurley never blinked.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Rather than backing away from these practices, the administration has now publicly doubled down.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The hopes of people opposed to ICE’s plans rested on the property owners of the warehouses backing away from the deals — but that has failed to happen.
—Lautaro Grinspan, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Finally, the city is now backing away from its idea to charge to drive into Mission Bay Park and is instead looking at other options for solving its budget crisis.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Video footage from the apartment complex showed Kirkland speaking to several people in the Jeep before backing away and collapsing, the court document said.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026
In that interaction, forehead-to-forehead with Ayers and then slowly backing away, back to his bench, Hurley never blinked.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Mar. 2026
As officers yell for Martinez to stop, Stevens pulls his weapon and rapidly fires three shots through the window before quickly backing away.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Rather than backing away from these practices, the administration has now publicly doubled down.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The hopes of people opposed to ICE’s plans rested on the property owners of the warehouses backing away from the deals — but that has failed to happen.
—Lautaro Grinspan, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Finally, the city is now backing away from its idea to charge to drive into Mission Bay Park and is instead looking at other options for solving its budget crisis.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing away
Verb
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Since 2016, federal officials allege, Meade has been trying to avoid paying the tax obligation through a number of tactics, which include withdrawing large sums of cash and purchasing cashier’s checks from his business accounts.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
24 Apr. 2026
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Legitimate companies do not walk you through withdrawing cash, using crypto ATMs or buying gold to solve a problem.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On the arm of the sofa, where he had been seated just minutes before retreating into his bedroom for a few minutes of shut-eye, was a block of brown and white ice.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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Large investors flip to net sellers Larger investors are already retreating from the single-family market.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The price of the international benchmark for oil, Brent crude, rose to more than $126 a barrel at one point overnight — the highest since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — before falling back to around $114 a barrel early Thursday.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Baker either avoided directly answering any questions related to the Massachusetts political arena, falling back on his new role at the NCAA for taking him away from the Bay State.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Charged with pulling out of Mary the hurt inside, Coel exquisitely performs the task with the precision of an elite surgeon.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
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The Madrid Open is losing some star power with Carlos Alcaraz joining Novak Djokovic in pulling out of the upcoming clay-court tournament Friday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The warm weather will last through the week before dropping back into more seasonable highs in the 50s and 60s over the weekend.—
Kylee Miller,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
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Many of Joseph’s current defensive principles — disguising blitzers indistinguishably from players dropping back into coverage — are similar to what Cincinnati did a decade ago, under defensive coordinator Guenther.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Castillo needed 30 pitches to get out of the inning, but limited the damage by retiring Buxton on a pop fly, leaving the bases loaded.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
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Since retiring in 2022, she's been an outspoken advocate for mothers in professional sports and beyond.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20away. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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