FELL BACK Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

fell back

verb

past tense of fall back

as in withdrew

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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Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell back

Verb

The airline withdrew an application for a third flyover planned for this coming weekend, the aviation authority said.

— Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
The union later withdrew that measure, but only after the council struck a deal to require new hotel projects to go through a more extensive approval process at City Hall.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of withdrew

Verb

Lake Washington is a 200-foot-deep trough carved by glaciers that retreated 16,000 years ago.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
Galliano retreated from public life for two years and was found guilty by a Paris court of public insults based on religion, race and ethnicity.

— Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of retreated

Verb

Anthony Gose, who was just recalled on the road trip, retired five consecutive batters.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
Following the Channel 4/HBO sketch comedy show Da Ali G Show (2000-’04) and the 2002 Universal movie Ali G Indahouse, Cohen temporarily retired the character in 2007.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of retired

Verb

Taylor dropped back three steps and arced a jump ball into the corner over Barron and into the mitts of Sheppard, who appeared to scrape both toes along the turf before the Broncos’ stopper shoved him out of bounds.

— Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 26 Aug. 2026
The Twins came into the series tied with Texas for the American League's third wild card but have dropped back into a traffic jam outside the final postseason berth.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of dropped back

Verb

And think about Afghanistan as well, a huge military advantage there, but as US forces were finally being pulled out of there, the Taliban were once again taking control.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
One recent morning, four county cars pulled out of that motel on Sierra Highway.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pulled out

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Browse Nearby Words

fell away

fell back

fell back on

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“Fell back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell%20back. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fell back

verb

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