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
Michael Ashley, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
Additionally, the council noted that there aren’t viable alternative sites for the solar farm, which, therefore, must be built on the landfill site or else potentially set back the city's climate goals.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 14 Feb. 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
The international incident set back diplomatic efforts between the hostile nations, nearly sparking a kinetic crisis.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
Additionally, the council noted that there aren’t viable alternative sites for the solar farm, which, therefore, must be built on the landfill site or else potentially set back the city's climate goals.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 14 Feb. 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
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But can this also work in reverse — taking TV storylines and shifting them to a theatrical release?—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Apr. 2025
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Move the dailies out to the street and after the drive do it all in reverse.—
Marah Eakin,
Los Angeles Times,
15 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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There's also great uncertainty as Trump seeks negotiations with China and begins talks with other counties whose larger tariffs were delayed by 90 days.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
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Funds should go out within 30 days of the final approval hearing on July 17, 2025, but they may be delayed by appeals or injunctions.—
Ryley Amond,
CNBC,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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These executives are intermediaries, translating client requests to junior media buyers, data analysts, and creatives, creating bottlenecks and slowing down campaign optimizations.—
Tyler Shepherd,
USA Today,
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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However, in recent weeks, there have been multiple reports of people without criminal convictions, and some with valid documentation, being detained for deportation.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Apr. 2025
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People need to understand he will be detained and he will be deported. KARL (voice-over): Our Sunday exclusive with Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 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 23 Apr. 2025.
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