BACKTRACKED Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

backtracked

verb

past tense of backtrack

as in reverted

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Dissimilar Words

as in backpedaled

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of backtracked Seconds later, Flore backtracked, called the foul on the floor, then backtracked his backtrack and reverted to his initial call. — Cj Moore, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backtracked

Verb

Just after Sky announced its greenlight earlier this year, Banijay and Sony entered a rights dispute revolving around Banijay believing the TV and film rights had reverted back to them since The Girl in the Spider’s Web movie aired.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026
The prices later reverted after public polling continued to show Paxton leading, the report also found.

— Garrett Downs, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of reverted

Verb

When the refill is retracted, the Telegraph Key can also be pressed repeatedly, turning the mechanism into a satisfying tactile interaction even when the pen is not being used for writing.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026
But the subtitle’s Hail Mary overtones hit everybody wrong, everywhere, all at once, and the movie quickly retracted it.

— Michael Phillips, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of retracted

Verb

Momentum has been building toward phasing out oil in Los Angeles for years, but the city has never rescinded a permit before.

— Blanca Begert, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Earlier this year, the administration rescinded the 2009 Endangerment Finding, claiming the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

— Callie Patteson, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of rescinded

Verb

When a call is overturned, Baseball Savant measures the difference in run expectancy between the situation before the pitch/challenge and the situation after the call is flipped.

— Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
The driver of a semitractor-trailer that overturned early Wednesday in Olathe died in the crash, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of overturned

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backtrack

backtracked

backtracking

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“Backtracked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backtracked. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of backtracked

verb

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