setting back

Definition of setting backnext
present participle of set back
See the Dictionary Definition 

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for setting back
Verb
  • As multiple world powers invest heavily in Ukrainian expertise and joint production with the Ukrainian government and private companies, only the Pentagon is holding back.
    Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
  • As each mourner spoke, some holding back tears and others sobbing, Metayer’s family watched in loving silence.
    Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • But another federal agency was apparently holding up the revision.
    Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The photo shows Belichick, wearing a Code Black shirt and hat covered in roses, and Hudson, still sporting her cheerleading uniform, holding up three fingers for the camera.
    Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • That is setting batteries up for a dual role as an enabler to putting more green energy on the grid and delaying the phase-out of fossil fuels.
    Mark Chediak, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was recently defeated in an election, had accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying repairs — an allegation that Zelenskyy denied.
    Karel Janicek, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Bain walked purposefully, never slowing, never stopping — not even to size himself up in his new Bucs hat in the mirror — before striding onstage for a hug with the commissioner.
    Zak Keefer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Orders for its heavy-duty natural gas turbines aren’t slowing down anytime soon as hyperscalers pour billions into data center construction.
    Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • And moviegoers turned out to indies from Rosemead to The Chronology of Water, All That’s Left Of You and more, new and holding over, limited, wide and top ten.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Jan. 2026
  • MicroStrategy remains the leader among corporate crypto treasuries, holding over 638,000 bitcoins valued at an astonishing $71 billion.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The incident, which was captured on video by a bystander, showed dozens of officers surrounding the business and detaining employees.
    Logan Hall, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Marriott’s report was the first time a British aid charity had documented how taxpayers’ money was funding a business accused of detaining impoverished African patients.
    Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
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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Cite this Entry

“Setting back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/setting%20back. Accessed 1 May. 2026.

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