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
Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025
Each of the Riders’ three losses this season came to teams playing in the Coliseum, the last a 65-44 setback at No. 6 Mullen on Jan. 6.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2025
Mitch Sherman, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Emily Peck Jan 24, 2025 - Business Trump's DEI orders may halt progress for disabled workers
The attack on DEI from the Trump administration could set back recent progress for disabled workers, particularly within the federal workforce, according to advocates and legal experts.
—Caitlin Owens, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for setback
Noun
But not all delays were caused by mechanical or track problems; factors like crew availability, people on the track and construction played a much bigger role in setbacks.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025
Each of the Riders’ three losses this season came to teams playing in the Coliseum, the last a 65-44 setback at No. 6 Mullen on Jan. 6.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2025
Verb
Four turned into productive pieces, including two who have been set back repeatedly by injuries, Turner Corcoran and Teddy Prochazka.
—Mitch Sherman, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Emily Peck Jan 24, 2025 - Business Trump's DEI orders may halt progress for disabled workers
The attack on DEI from the Trump administration could set back recent progress for disabled workers, particularly within the federal workforce, according to advocates and legal experts.
—Caitlin Owens, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for setback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for setback
Noun
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Shares of CrowdStrike have been hit hard over the past three weeks due to the reversal in several high-flying momentum tech stocks.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2025
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Trump, meanwhile, will see how the market responds to his reversal once stock trading resumes on Monday morning.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Zelensky said Saturday his troops were holding back Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk and denied Russian claims that Ukraine’s army was surrounded.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN,
15 Mar. 2025
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Rick Ross did not hold back in his latest rant against 50 Cent.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Nvidia is far from the only momentum stock to go in reverse in recent weeks.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
14 Mar. 2025
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The big picture: Some fear that the worker boost seen in 2022 and 2023 will play out in reverse.—
Courtenay Brown,
Axios,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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On several occasions, Trump has made unsubstantiated claims that the Biden administration held up Williams and Wilmore's return due to political reasons.—
NBC News,
NBC News,
19 Mar. 2025
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Higher proof bourbons hold up well to dilution, while those with pronounced spice or sweetness enhance the classic cocktail’s complexity.—
Emily Price,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Under a special rule, IRA owners and participants born after December 31, 1950, and who turned 73 in 2024, can delay their first RMD until April 1, 2025.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
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With Kyiv losing its grip on the western Russian region of Kursk, its sole territorial bargaining chip, many believe that Putin may be delaying talks on the ceasefire proposal until the region is firmly back under Russian control.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s tariffs on global trade partners have sparked concerns about the possibility of a recession amid slowing economic growth.—
Sean Conlon,Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
21 Mar. 2025
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The result is bottlenecks that slow down data ingestion, choke training pipelines, and undercut the performance of expensive GPUs.—
Steve McDowell,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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However, on the call, Boasberg signaled that some of the five Venezuelans who were detained over the weekend were already onboard repatriation flights.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
16 Mar. 2025
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Rekha Sharma-Crawford, a partner at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law who represents several individuals who were detained, told The Star that her team should have a disposition on the last person in custody soon.—
Taylor O’Connor,
Kansas City Star,
15 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 24 Mar. 2025.
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