as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
she hung back in offering her opinion about her daughter's career choices because it wasn't her business
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Recent Examples of hang back
Pick up a few of the travel prints and turn them into a series to frame and hang back home.
—
Lane Nieset, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Devine kept Bunny on a leash, hanging back a safe distance.
—Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
But many of those demonstrators have since hung back, owing to political exhaustion.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
Hinrichs’ best memory so far was at a stop a couple of years ago when a family brought a disabled child but were hanging back from the train to avoid the tussle of the crowd.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Lane Nieset, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Devine kept Bunny on a leash, hanging back a safe distance.
—Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
But many of those demonstrators have since hung back, owing to political exhaustion.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
Hinrichs’ best memory so far was at a stop a couple of years ago when a family brought a disabled child but were hanging back from the train to avoid the tussle of the crowd.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hang back
Verb
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Understanding why companies hesitate, and knowing how to work around it, gives you an edge.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Tickets are going fast for this panel, so don’t hesitate to secure your spot.—
Lorraine Berry,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Musk’s comments about his time allotment come just hours after a group of eight Democratic state treasurers wrote to the chair of Tesla’s board about the company’s faltering performance.—
Miranda Nazzaro,
The Hill,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Business Drama: Volatility, Strategy, and Turnaround What followed was a decade of operational rework—sometimes faltering, sometimes brilliant.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hang back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hang%20back. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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