Antonyms for backs out of
Grammar : Verb |
Spell : bak |
Phonetic Transcription : bæk |
Definition of backs out of
Origin :- Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cf. Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic.
- The cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense in other modern Germanic languages by words akin to Modern English ridge (cf. Danish ryg, German Rücken). Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian schiena, Russian spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy).
- To turn (one's) back on (someone or something) "ignore" is from early 14c. Behind (someone's) back "clandestinely" is from late 14c.
- To know (something) like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1893. The first attested use of the phrase is from a dismissive speech made to a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona":
- If I durst speak to herself, you may be certain I would never dream of trusting it to you; because I know you like the back of my hand, and all your blustering talk is that much wind to me.
- The story, a sequel to "Kidnapped," has a Scottish setting and context, and the back of my hand to you was noted in the late 19th century as a Scottish expression meaning "I will have nothing to do with you" [e.g. "Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language"]. In English generally, the back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300. Perhaps the connection of a menacing dismissal is what made Stevenson choose that particular anatomical reference.
- As in back-pedal : verb change mind
- As in rescind : verb declare null and void
- As in retract : verb take back; renege on
- As in revoke : verb take back; cancel
Synonyms for backs out of
- abjure
- abolish
- abrogate
- annul
- back
- back down
- back off
- back out of
- backpedal
- backwater
- call back
- call off
- cancel
- change one's mind
- change opinion
- countermand
- counterorder
- crawl out of
- declare null and void
- default on
- deny
- disavow
- disclaim
- dismantle
- dismiss
- disown
- do a U-turn
- do an about-face
- draw in
- eat one's words
- eliminate
- erase
- exclude
- expunge
- fail to honor
- fall back
- forget
- forget it
- forswear
- go back on
- go into reverse
- have change of heart
- have second thoughts
- invalidate
- lift
- negate
- nig
- nix
- nullify
- obliterate
- overturn
- pull back
- pull in
- pull the plug
- quash
- recall
- recant
- recede
- reconsider
- reel in
- remove
- renege
- renounce
- repeal
- repudiate
- rescind
- retract
- retreat
- retrocede
- retrograde
- reverse
- revoke
- rub out
- rule out
- scrub
- set aside
- sheathe
- shift one's ground
- sing a different song
- suspend
- take back
- take in
- unsay
- vacate
- void
- wangle out
- weasel out
- welsh
- wipe out
- withdraw
- X-out
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019