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
Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025
But if these efforts are seen as a Musk program, NASA could get political pushback, potentially setting back the dream of sending humans to Mars for another generation.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 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
Eliminating programs designed to elevate the quality of education will set back efforts to improve the teaching profession and student outcomes.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025
But if these efforts are seen as a Musk program, NASA could get political pushback, potentially setting back the dream of sending humans to Mars for another generation.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for setback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for setback
Noun
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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
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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
Verb
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No European military, not even the EU collectively, possesses the deterrent force necessary to hold back Moscow, which is now backed by a broader axis of evil.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
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Gary Marcus, professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, has directly critiqued the claims of tech CEOs like Altman, pointing out the numerous technical issues holding back the development of true AGI.—
Will McCurdy,
PCMAG,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Throwing our economic growth in reverse by imposing harmful tariffs and repealing existing laws will only leave the U.S. auto industry in the dust.—
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
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The woman woke up, put the vehicle in reverse and tried to flee, police said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The black piece of glass [holds up his cell phone] is the worst addiction.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
8 Mar. 2025
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One side holds up to 10 pairs of shoes, while the other can be used for clothes, bags, or hats.—
Shea Simmons,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Plans for the show — which was originally announced in 2020 and then delayed to 2024 — have officially been cancelled, as the studio abandons creating original longform content for streaming.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
3 Mar. 2025
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Overall, domestic revenue for the weekend is estimated to come in at $53 million, per Comscore, one of the lowest Oscar weekends in at least a decade (excluding 2021, when the awards show was delayed and theaters were struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic).—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Black Hawk helicopters carrying troops to the Assembly were slowed down because their superior officers did not get advance clearance to fly over Seoul, losing precious time.—
Choe Sang-Hun,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2025
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Despite his being in his 22nd season in the NBA, James has shown no signs of slowing down this year. Co-star Luka Doncic will be relied upon more heavily down the stretch.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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During Trump’s first presidency, a Manhattan lawyer was recorded threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on workers who spoke Spanish, and two women in Montana were detained by a Border Patrol agent for speaking Spanish.—
Annie Abbott,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
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Late last week, Singapore officials detained three people for lying about where U.S.-manufactured servers would end up.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
3 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 13 Mar. 2025.
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