TAKING BACK Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

taking back

verb

present participle of take back

as in withdrawing

to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to) I take back what I said about her: she's not the fool I thought she was

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Example Sentences

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 taking back The county voted to remove BSO Fire Rescue from the sheriff and is considering taking back security for the airport and seaport, the jail and 911 center. — Norgan Rynor, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026 The county voted to remove BSO Fire Rescue from the sheriff and is considering taking back security for the airport and seaport, the jail, and the 911 center. — Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026 As well as taking back ownership of recruiting locally and in the West. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026 But for Lee's government and many South Koreans who support the transition, taking back wartime OPCON represents greater military autonomy and a more equal alliance with the United States. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 Rhaenyra shows no affection whatsoever to her heir, Joffrey, and only shows signs of any warmth at all when speaking with Daemon about taking back Tumbleton from Lord Ormund and the Hightowers. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 A week after setting an all-time high in Nielsen’s streaming ratings, Love Island USA nearly matched it while taking back the top overall ranking for the third time this summer. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 Also not on the spring 2027 calendar is Giambattista Valli, who is taking back control of his house following an agreement to buy back full ownership from Artémis, the private investment arm of the billionaire Pinault family. — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 24 July 2026 Democrats have said Kean's 7th congressional district is a top target to flip in their pursuit of taking back the majority. — Claudia Grisales, NPR, 30 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for taking back

Verb

Bass pushed for a bill in the state Legislature that would have reduced taxes on apartment buildings but ended up withdrawing it.

— Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
San Antonio police have advised bank customers to stay alert when withdrawing cash and watch for anyone who may be following them.

— Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of withdrawing

Verb

Vivo and Oppo phones have relied on various gimmicks, like smaller gimbals and pop-out lenses, to improve camera performance, though not to the extent of a physically retracting gimbal.

— Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
The remote control has mixed reviews, with this seemingly retracting from its otherwise glowing reviews.

— Tantse Walter, Space.com, 26 June 2026

Definition of retracting

Verb

Although economic espionage is not without risk, unilaterally renouncing the practice in the current global environment is far more dangerous.

— DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said every actor in Hong Kong civil society who assumed that renouncing violence and working within the law would be fine has to revise that assumption.

— Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of renouncing

Verb

Demolishing universities, assaulting the press, violently resegregating the public sphere, ramming degenerative AI down our throats, incarcerating mere zine makers, the regime is systematically repealing the right to culture.

— Anna Kornbluh, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
In contrast to Democrats, their agenda has included repealing no-excuse absentee balloting, banning the use of ballot drop boxes and instituting stronger voter identification requirements.

— Daniel J. Mallinson, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of repealing

Verb

Attorneys for two of them have gotten back to us, denying the allegations.

— Mahsa Saeidi, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
But there’s no denying the dynasty-chasing Dodgers are in trouble after the Brewers won games started by Los Angeles’ dynamic duo of Tarik Skubal and Yamamoto.

— Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of denying

Verb

His argument would have been laughable, if not for the fact that Black Americans were barred from giving testimony against white people in California’s courts and therefore from contradicting Smith’s account.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Granted, this morning, Mercury in Scorpio will meet with Saturn retrograde in an awkward quincunx, which can be quite the contradicting aspect, as if the two planets in contact didn’t speak the same language.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2026