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
However, people with certain skin conditions should hang back.
—
Maggie O'Neill, Verywell Health, 8 Feb. 2025
But the congestion around National Airport, one of the country’s busiest public airspaces, requires particular adeptness and a willingness to hang back if necessary to let passenger jets take off or land safely.
—Mark Walker, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025
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
During the nighttime partying, older revelers mostly hung back.
—María Magdalena Arréllaga, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Maggie O'Neill, Verywell Health, 8 Feb. 2025
But the congestion around National Airport, one of the country’s busiest public airspaces, requires particular adeptness and a willingness to hang back if necessary to let passenger jets take off or land safely.
—Mark Walker, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025
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
During the nighttime partying, older revelers mostly hung back.
—María Magdalena Arréllaga, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Cite this Entry
“Hang back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hang%20back. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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