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
Ashley Donohoe, Sacramento Bee, 21 Mar. 2025
From its first broadcast in the months after Pearl Harbor, VOA promised to tell the truth, including American setbacks and criticism of U.S. policies and actions.
—Al Pessin, Orlando Sentinel, 21 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
One late payment could be a major setback Missing a debt consolidation loan or credit card payment can result in extra charges and hurt your credit.
—Ashley Donohoe, Sacramento Bee, 21 Mar. 2025
From its first broadcast in the months after Pearl Harbor, VOA promised to tell the truth, including American setbacks and criticism of U.S. policies and actions.
—Al Pessin, Orlando Sentinel, 21 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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These figures represent a dramatic reversal from 1980, when the figure for the U.S. was about 30% and for China about 5%.—
Hersh Shefrin,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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In a significant policy reversal, which will come into effect on March 27, the SSA will resume withholding 100 percent of Social Security payments to reclaim any overpayments.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 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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Lil Yachty didn’t hold back when asked about his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter organization.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
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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Jobs numbers have been mixed, but retail sales and industrial production have held up while business sentiment craters.—
Josh Fellman,
Quartz,
19 Mar. 2025
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JPMorgan thinks Meta’s business will hold up better because of its diversified advertiser base (in the tens of millions) and high exposure to performance and direct response ad accounts.—
Paulina Likos,Morgan Chittum,Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
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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In New Orleans, Arthur Johnson said the loss of federal grant money might slow down the work, but won't stop it.—
Eva Tesfaye,
NPR,
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 25 Mar. 2025.
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