as in reversal
a change in status for the worse usually temporarily
the colonists persevered despite suffering setbacks that would have discouraged lesser souls
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to hold back
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of setback
Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Her only loss was against males, losing by a head setback to Fierceness in the $1.25 million Grade I Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga.
—Bob Wisener, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2025
Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Trump administration cuts to the United States Agency for International Development have set back aid groups operating in the Gaza Strip.
—Imad Isseid and Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for setback
Noun
Frederic, who was acquired March 4 from Boston, was limited to just 7:10 in his Oilers debut Saturday in Los Angeles after suffering a setback.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Her only loss was against males, losing by a head setback to Fierceness in the $1.25 million Grade I Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga.
—Bob Wisener, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2025
Verb
This sets back delivery of electricity (green or not) to data centers that are needed for AI.
—Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Trump administration cuts to the United States Agency for International Development have set back aid groups operating in the Gaza Strip.
—Imad Isseid and Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for setback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for setback
Noun
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The reversal played out at the closed board meeting, the person and Dreyer, who listened to the meeting over Zoom, said to The Bee.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
His defensive stance provided a massive cushion for Berkshire as President Donald Trump’s stunning tariff rollout and reversal triggered roller-coaster price swings in the market.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
His lip was quivering from holding back crying.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
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Their research finds that women are being disproportionately held back at all levels of business, preventing many from making it to the next promotion, let alone the highest levels of leadership.—
Liz Elting,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The same thing happened in reverse when judges often blocked Biden administration plans.—
Christina Gatti,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2025
-
When the ship is ready to depart, the pilot once again boards and performs the process in reverse, usually disembarking onto the pilot boat in the same way.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Verb
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There’s a bit of a balancing act that goes on here; the wine should have enough acidity and freshness to hold up to tomato sauce in addition to medium to strong tannins that will cut through fatty cheese.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
10 Apr. 2025
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Some of us have the ability to go outside and hold up a sign, and some of us are not able to.—
Louryn Strampe,
Wired News,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, the brothers will still have a resentencing hearing soon, provided it does not get delayed again.—
Kate Nalepinski,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
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The deadline has been pushed several times to provide people more opportunities to get the card, and then subsequently delayed through COVID.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Limited access to nursing care can increase hospital deaths, infections and readmissions, reduce early detection of health issues, and slow the response to life-threatening conditions such as stroke, sepsis and cardiac arrest.—
Kymberlee Montgomery,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
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Singh and her collaborators estimated that improvements to modifiable risk factors could prevent or slow at least 60 percent of strokes, 40 percent of dementia cases, and 35 percent of late-life depression cases.—
Emily Kay Votruba,
EverydayHealth.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The new advisories follow several incidents involving foreign nationals being detained or deported at US airports, despite carrying valid documentation.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
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Khalil was detained March 8 by federal immigration agents.—
Compiled by Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports,
arkansasonline.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Blockchain thus provides companies and banks a way to undo Basel II’s and Basel III’s retarding effect on trade finance while complying with their requirements.—
Rebecca Liao,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Aug. 2017
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Turning the lithium oxide—the product of discharging the battery—back to lithium is difficult and only partially possible even when assisted by special catalysts: The oxide builds up and retards the process, limiting the number of charge-discharge cycles to a mere handful.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
31 Jan. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Setback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/setback. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
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