backpedal
[verb]
Synonyms: back down, back off, back out, backwater, crawfish (out), cry off, declare off, renege, resile, welsh

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Related Words: dodge, duck, elude, evade, get around, shirk, sidestep

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

back‧ped‧al /ˌbækˈpedl $ ˈbækˌpedl/ verb (past tense and past participle backpedalled, present participle backpedalling British English, backpedaled, backpedaling American English) [intransitive]

1. to change your opinion or not do something that you had promised to do ⇒ backtrack:
They are backpedalling on the commitment to cut taxes.

2. to pedal backwards on a bicycle

3. to run or walk backwards

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲