FALLS BACK Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

falls back

verb

present tense third-person singular of fall back

as in withdraws

to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) resistance from native forces was greater than expected, and the invading army was forced to fall back

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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.

Recent Examples of falls back When that information gets exposed, the burden of watching for fraud suddenly falls back on us. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 The school falls back on procedure to keep a lid on things, and a school violence review committee wraps up without a firm finding. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 Without that layer, the comprehension work falls back on humans, page after page, document after document, exception after exception. — Alberto Gimeno, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Sometimes a player experiences a season in the sun and falls back to Earth, as Matt Kemp and Jacoby Ellsbury did in 2011. — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 His footage reveals the movement of plasma within the loops, including 'coronal rain' as material cools and falls back towards the lower solar atmosphere along magnetic field lines. — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 3 Sep. 2026 There is really no way to talk about the film unless one falls back on wispy vagaries and pointed allusions to cinematic precedents, or just explaining the act one set-up and then stopping with the warning that things get really weird thereafter. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 County Commissioner Alexandra Davis warned there is no guarantee services will be less expensive for cities if fire-rescue falls back under county control. — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026 The additional allowances are available only until the price falls back below the threshold, or the reserve of extra allowances is depleted. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for falls back

Verb

Popular airline withdraws from three locations, leaving travelers with fewer routes.

— , FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Investopedia made a state-by-state set of estimates for a single retiree who collects the average Social Security benefit of $1,975 a month and withdraws 4% of savings a year.

— Jim Edwards, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of withdraws

Verb

But even as the characters reflect at length on the virtue of putting themselves out there, their series too often retreats within itself instead.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Olivia Studio60, Womack Studios, Disney+ A celebrity TV weatherman retreats with his daughter to his estranged father’s olive groves, reopening old wounds.

— Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of retreats

Verb

Halfway through, Brill pulls out a machine that fills the stage with foam, submerging the actors in a cumulus of bubbles.

— Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
The video is analyzed for quality—Birdbuddy looks for clips with good poses and exposure, pulls out a few still images from the video, and sends it to the app as a Postcard.

— Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of pulls out

Verb

Szoboszlai has much better access to Yoane Wissa in the space that opens up as Gravenberch pushes forward and Wirtz drops back to cover (no doubt after a half-time reminder about the importance of covering the space).

— Jon Mackenzie, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
After the front, the humidity drops back off the scale, meaning that Thursday and Friday will be very comfy and dry.

— Terry Eliasen, CBS News, 18 May 2026

Definition of drops back

Verb

Figure 02 leaves the fleet Figure’s newer platform also arrives as the company retires its predecessor.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Furthermore, if a Republican justice retires should Democrats win the Senate, the move will almost certainly be viewed as purely partisan.

— The Conversation, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of retires

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falls away

falls back

falls back on

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“Falls back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falls%20back. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of falls back

verb

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