hanging back
The phrase “hanging back” has 3 syllables: hang-ing back
It's pronounced as /ˈhæŋɪŋ bæk/
What is synonym and antonym for hanging back?
In the thesaurus, “hanging back” has 82 synonyms and 29 antonyms.
Here are synonyms and antonyms for hanging back along with examples of usage in sentences.
Synonyms for hanging back
- afraid
- averse
- backing down
- backward
- balancing
- calculating
- cautious
- chary
- circumspect
- considering
- dallying
- dawdling
- debating
- delaying
- deliberating
- demurring
- diffident
- discouraged
- disheartened
- disinclined
- dithering
- doubtful
- doubting
- equivocating
- faltering
- grudging
- half-hearted
- halting
- hawing
- hedging
- hemming
- hesitant
- hesitating
- indecisive
- indisposed
- involuntary
- irresolute
- lacking confidence
- laggard
- lazy
- lingering
- loath
- opposed
- oscillating
- pausing
- pendulous
- pondering
- procrastinating
- pussyfooting
- queasy
- recalcitrant
- reluctant
- remiss
- scrupling
- shilly-shally
- shilly-shallying
- shy
- skeptical
- slack
- slow
- squeamish
- staggering
- swaying
- tardy
- teetering
- tentative
- timid
- uncertain
- uneager
- unpredictable
- unsure
- unwilling
- vacillant
- vacillating
- vacillatory
- wabbling
- waffling
- waiting
- wary
- wavering
- weighing
- wobbling
Antonyms for hanging back
- advancing
- anxious
- believing
- bold
- brave
- budging
- careless
- certain
- confident
- continuing
- deciding
- decisive
- definite
- eager
- enthusiastic
- extroverted
- fearless
- heedless
- incautious
- indiscreet
- rash
- ready
- resolute
- stirring
- sure
- uncareful
- unhesitant
- unwavering
- willing
Example Sentences
- He was hanging back during the group photo because he was feeling shy.
- They kept hanging back at the party, not engaging with anyone.
- She was hanging back during the meeting, unsure of how to contribute.
- The dog was hanging back, hesitant to join the other animals.
- He’s been hanging back in class, not participating as much as usual.
On this page you'll find 111 synonyms, antonyms, or another words to hanging back, such as: advancing, afraid, anxious, averse, backing down, backward, balancing.
Make sure to choose synonyms and antonyms that are appropriate for the context of the sentence.
Related Words
balancing
- acclimation
- acclimatization
- accommodating
- adjusting
- aid
- allegory
- alteration
- amendment
- amends
- analogizing
- analogy
- analysis
- analyzing
- arrangement
- assistance
- association
- atonement
- atoning
- backing down
- balanced
- bringing together
- change
- check
- checking
- clearing
- collating
- collation
- comparability
- compensating
- compensatory
- conciliation
- conformance
- connection
- consideration
- considering
- contrast
- controlling
- correcting
- correction
- correlation
- counterbalancing
- cure
- dallying
- dawdling
- debating
- deciding
- delaying
- deliberating
- deliberation
- democratizing
- determining
- directing
- directive
- discharging
- discrimination
- distinguishing
- dithering
- dividing
- ease
- equalizing
- equating
- equilibrating
- equipoising
- equivocating
- estimation
- evaluating
- evening
- examination
- example
- exemplification
- faltering
- feats
- fitting
- fixing
- footing
- gymnastics
- halting
- hanging back
- hawing
- hedging
- hemming
- hesitating
- homogenizing
- identification
- illustration
- improvement
- indemnity
- investigation
- judging
- justice
- juxtaposition
- leveling
- levelling
- likeness
- likening
- lingering
- liquidating
- measuring
- meeting
- mending
- metaphor
- modification
- normalizing
- observation
- offsetting
- opposition
- ordering
- organization
- organizing
- orientation
- oscillating
- paralleling
- pausing
- paying
- paying off
- paying up
- payment
- pondering
- ponying up
- procrastinating
- pussyfooting
- quittance
- quitting
- ratio
- readjustment
- recompense
- recompensing
- rectification
- redress
- reestablishment
- reflection
- reformation
- regularizing
- regulating
- regulation
- regulative
- rehabilitation
- reimbursing
- relating
- relation
- relief
- remedy
- remission
- remodeling
- renewal
- repair
- repairing
- reparation
- repaying
- report
- reprisal
- requital
- resemblance
- restitution
- retribution
- return
- review
- revision
- reward
- reworking
- satisfaction
- scrupling
- scrutiny
- segregation
- separation
- setting
- settling
- shaping
- shifting
- shilly-shallying
- similarity
- somersaults
- staggering
- standardization
- standardizing
- standing
- stunts
- survey
- swaying
- teetering
- testing
- thinking over
- tumbling
- turning
- vacillating
- vengeance
- verification
- view
- wabbling
- waffling
- waiting
- wavering
- weighing
- wobbling
dawdling
- adjournment
- aestivating
- afraid
- ambling
- apathetic
- averse
- averseness
- backward
- behind
- behindhand
- belated
- bind
- bit-by-bit
- bumming
- check
- chilling
- cooling-off period
- crawling
- creeping
- cunctation
- dallying
- decelerating
- delay
- delayed
- delaying
- deliberate
- delinquent
- demurral
- detained
- detainment
- detention
- diddling
- diffident
- dilatory
- dilly-dallying
- dillydallying
- discontinuation
- disinclined
- dormancy
- doubt
- doubtful
- doubting
- downtime
- dozing
- dragging
- dreamy
- droning
- dropping behind
- drowsy
- dubiety
- easing
- easy
- equivocation
- estivating
- falling behind
- faltering
- filibuster
- filibustering
- fluctuation
- fooling
- fooling around
- footling
- fumbling
- furloughing
- goldbricking
- goof-off time
- gradual
- half-hearted
- halting
- hanging about
- hanging back
- hanging fire
- hangup
- heavy
- heavy-footed
- held up
- hemming and hawing
- hesitancy
- hesitating
- hibernating
- hibernation
- hindrance
- holding
- holding pattern
- holdup
- hung up
- idle
- idleness
- idling
- impediment
- imperceptible
- in a bind
- inactive
- inactivity
- inching
- indecision
- indecisive
- indecisiveness
- indisposition
- indolence
- indolent
- inert
- inertia
- inertness
- inoperativeness
- interval
- irresolute
- irresoluteness
- irresolution
- jam
- jammed
- joblessness
- kicking around
- kicking back
- killing time
- lackadaisical
- lacking confidence
- lag
- laggard
- lagging
- lallygagging
- languid
- laze
- lazing
- lazy
- lazying
- leaden
- leisure
- leisurely
- lethargic
- lethargy
- lingering
- listless
- loafing
- loath
- logjam
- loitering
- lolling
- lollygagging
- lounging
- lumbering
- malingering
- marking time
- measured
- messing
- messing around
- misgiving
- mistrust
- moderate
- monkeying
- moping
- moratorium
- moseying
- mucking
- negligent
- not arrived
- not done
- obstruction
- oscillation
- otiosity
- overdue
- own sweet time
- passive
- pause
- pendulous
- phlegmatic
- piddling
- playing
- plodding
- pokey
- poking
- poky
- ponderous
- postponement
- postponing
- pottering
- problem
- procrastinating
- procrastination
- prorogation
- putting off
- qualm
- quiet
- relaxing
- reluctance
- reluctant
- remiss
- remission
- reprieve
- resting
- retardation
- retardment
- sauntering
- scruple
- setback
- shiftlessness
- shilly-shally
- shilly-shallying
- showstopper
- shuffling
- shy
- skeptical
- skepticism
- slack
- sleepy
- sloth
- slothful
- slothfulness
- slouch
- slow
- slow-footed
- slow-going
- slow-moving
- slow-paced
- slowing
- slowness
- sluggish
- sluggishness
- snail-paced
- snaillike
- staggering
- stagnant
- stagnation
- stall
- stalling
- stammering
- stay
- stop
- stoppage
- strapped for time
- strolling
- stumbling
- stupor
- stuttering
- supine
- surcease
- suspension
- swanning
- tardy
- tarrying
- temporizing
- tentative
- tentativeness
- tie up
- time to burn
- time to kill
- time-wasting
- timid
- timidity
- timidness
- to and fro
- too late
- torpid
- torpidity
- torpor
- tortoiselike
- trifling
- truancy
- truanting
- uneager
- unemployment
- unhurried
- unpredictable
- unpunctual
- unsure
- unwilling
- unwillingness
- vacillant
- vacillating
- vacillation
- vacillatory
- vegetating
- vegging out
- wait
- wavering
faltering
- aberrant
- afraid
- agnostic
- agnosticism
- ailing
- aimless
- all aquiver
- ambiguity
- ambivalent
- anemic
- anile
- anxiety
- anxious
- apprehension
- apprehensive
- aquake
- aquiver
- ashake
- aside
- averse
- averseness
- aversion
- avoidance
- awkward
- backing down
- backward
- baffled
- balancing
- bated
- betwixt and between
- bland
- bleached
- blurred
- breathless
- bumbling
- capricious
- careening
- casual
- caution
- cautious
- censor
- changeable
- changing
- claudicant
- clumsy
- compunction
- conflicted
- confused
- confusion
- conscience
- consideration
- considering
- dallying
- dawdling
- deadened
- debate
- debating
- debilitated
- decrepit
- deep
- delay
- delaying
- deliberating
- deliberation
- delicate
- demur
- demurral
- designless
- desultory
- difficulty
- diffidence
- diffident
- dilemma
- dim
- disbelief
- discomfited
- discomposed
- disconcerted
- disconnected
- discontinuous
- discordant
- discredit
- disinclination
- disinclined
- disjointed
- disordered
- disquiet
- disquieted
- distant
- distracted
- distrust
- distrustful
- disturbed
- dithering
- dizzy
- dotard
- doubt
- doubtful
- doubting
- drooping
- dubiety
- dubious
- dubiousness
- dull
- dumb
- dusty
- eccentric
- edgy
- enervated
- enfeebled
- epicene
- equivocal
- equivocating
- equivocation
- erratic
- exhausted
- faded
- failing
- faint
- faintheartedness
- faithless
- faithlessness
- far-off
- fatigued
- faulty
- fear
- fearful
- feeble
- fence-sitting
- fickle
- fidgety
- fitful
- flabby
- flimsy
- floundering
- fluctuant
- fluctuating
- fluctuation
- flustered
- fragile
- fragmentary
- frail
- fumbling
- gauche
- gentle
- half-hearted
- halfhearted
- halting
- hanging back
- haphazard
- hawing
- hazy
- hedging
- hemming
- hemming and hawing
- hesitance
- hesitancy
- hesitant
- hesitating
- hesitation
- hit-or-miss
- hoarse
- hot-and-cold
- hushed
- ill
- ill-defined
- imperceptible
- imperfect
- in a quandary
- in clouds
- in dilemma
- inadequate
- inarticulate
- inaudible
- incertitude
- incoherent
- incohesive
- incomplete
- incomprehensible
- inconclusive
- incongruous
- inconsistent
- inconstant
- incredulity
- indecision
- indecisive
- indecisiveness
- indeterminate
- indetermination
- indiscriminate
- indisposed
- indisposition
- indistinct
- indistinguishable
- ineffective
- inefficient
- inept
- infirm
- infrequent
- insecure
- insubstantial
- insufficient
- intermittent
- irrational
- irresolute
- irresoluteness
- irresolution
- jellylike
- jerky
- jerry-built
- jittery
- jumbled
- labored
- lack of confidence
- lacking confidence
- laid low
- lame
- languid
- lazy
- lenient
- lethargic
- light
- lightheaded
- like doubting Thomas
- limping
- lingering
- loath
- loathe
- lost
- loth
- low
- low-pitched
- lumbering
- lurch
- lurching
- maladroit
- maundering
- mild
- misgiving
- mistrust
- moderate
- moot
- muddled
- muffled
- mumbled
- mumbling
- murmuring
- mute
- muted
- muttered
- muttering
- nervous
- nonuniform
- not following
- not set
- obscure
- occasional
- of two minds
- on edge
- on pins and needles
- on tenterhooks
- on the fence
- on-the-fence
- open to question
- oscillating
- oscillation
- out of earshot
- out of order
- out of place
- padded
- pale
- patchy
- pause
- pausing
- pending
- pendulous
- perplexed
- perplexity
- piano
- pondering
- poor
- precarious
- problem
- problematical
- procrastinating
- procrastination
- puny
- purposeless
- pussyfooting
- puzzled
- puzzling
- quaking
- qualm
- quandary
- quavering
- questioning
- quiet
- quivering
- quivery
- rambling
- rattletrap
- raving
- reconsideration
- recurrent
- reeling
- rejection
- reluctance
- reluctancy
- reluctant
- remote
- repetition
- restless
- reticent
- rickety
- rocking
- rocky
- rootless
- scruple
- scrupling
- second thought
- self-conscious
- senile
- sensile
- shadowy
- shaking
- shaky
- shifting
- shilly-shally
- shilly-shallying
- shuddering
- shy
- shyness
- silent
- skeptical
- skepticism
- slight
- slow
- smooth
- soft
- softened
- soothing
- spasmodic
- speechless
- splutter
- sporadic
- sputtering
- squeamishness
- staggering
- stammering
- stifled
- stoppage
- stumble
- stumbling
- stutter
- stuttering
- subdued
- superego
- suspense
- suspicion
- suspicious
- swaying
- teetering
- tender
- tense
- tentative
- tentativeness
- tenuous
- theoretical
- thin
- timid
- timidity
- timidness
- to and fro
- toddling
- tongue-tied
- tottering
- tottery
- trembling
- tremorous
- tremulous
- troubled
- tumbledown
- twinge
- unanswered
- uncertain
- uncertainness
- uncertainty
- unclear
- uncomfortable
- uncommunicative
- unconcluded
- unconnected
- unconsidered
- unconvinced
- unconvincing
- uncoordinated
- undecided
- undetermined
- uneager
- uneasiness
- uneasy
- unenthusiastic
- uneven
- uneventful
- unfinished
- unfirm
- unhandy
- unintelligible
- unmethodical
- unpersuasive
- unpleasing
- unpredictable
- unpunctual
- unrelaxed
- unreliable
- unresolved
- unsatisfactory
- unsettled
- unsolved
- unsound
- unspoken
- unstable
- unsteady
- unsubstantial
- unsuitable
- unsure
- unsystematic
- unuttered
- unvocal
- unvoiced
- unwilling
- unwillingness
- up and down
- up in the air
- vacillant
- vacillating
- vacillation
- vacillatory
- vague
- vibrating
- voiceless
- wabbling
- wabbly
- waffling
- waiting
- wan
- wandering
- wavering
- weak
- weak-kneed
- weaving
- weighing
- whispered
- wild
- wimpy
- wishy-washy
- without belief
- wobble
- wobbling
- wobbly
- wooden
- woozy
- wordless
- yielding
halting
- abandonment
- abating
- abolishing
- abolishment
- abolition
- aborting
- abortion
- ambivalent
- annulling
- annulment
- arresting
- awkward
- backing down
- baffling
- balancing
- balking
- biting the dust
- blockading
- blocking
- blundering
- bottlenecking
- braking
- breaking
- breaking down
- breaking off
- breaking up
- bringing up
- bumbling
- cagey
- cagy
- calling
- calling off
- cancelation
- cancellation
- canning
- catching
- ceasing
- checking
- choking off
- clamping down
- claudicant
- clogging
- closing
- clumsy
- completing
- concluding
- conflicted
- considering
- cutting off
- cutting out
- dallying
- damming
- dawdling
- deactivating
- dead-ending
- debating
- delaying
- deliberating
- demolishing
- destroying
- detaining
- determining
- diffident
- discontinuing
- disinclined
- dissolving
- dithering
- doddering
- doubtful
- drawing up
- dropping
- dubious
- dying
- elapsing
- ending
- equivocating
- expiring
- faltering
- fetching up
- finishing
- floundering
- gauche
- giving over
- giving up
- going
- hanging back
- having done with
- hawing
- hedging
- hemming
- hesitant
- hesitating
- hindering
- hitching
- hobbling
- holding
- holding back
- holding up
- impeding
- imperfect
- indecisive
- indisposed
- inept
- infirm
- insecure
- invalidation
- irresolute
- kiboshing
- killing
- knocking off
- labored
- lapsing
- laying off
- leaving off
- letting up
- limping
- lingering
- loath
- loathe
- loth
- lumbering
- lurching
- maladroit
- neutralization
- nullification
- obstructing
- oscillating
- passing
- pausing
- pondering
- procrastinating
- pulling up
- pussyfooting
- putting the kibosh on
- questioning
- quitting
- recall
- recision
- relinquishment
- reluctant
- repeal
- repressing
- rescission
- reticent
- reversal
- revocation
- rollback
- ruining
- scrupling
- scuttling
- shambling
- shilly-shallying
- shuffling
- shutting off
- skeptical
- slow
- snagging
- snuffing
- squashing
- squelching
- staggering
- stalling
- stammering
- stamping
- stanching
- staunching
- staying
- stemming
- stilling
- stopping
- stumbling
- stunting
- stuttering
- suppressing
- surrender
- suspending
- swaying
- teetering
- tentative
- terminating
- termination
- tottering
- turning back
- uncertain
- undecided
- uneager
- unenthusiastic
- unhandy
- unsure
- vacillating
- vacillatory
- voidance
- wabbling
- wabbly
- waffling
- waiting
- wavering
- weighing
- winding down
- winding up
- wobbling
- wobbly
- wooden
vacillating
- afraid
- ambivalent
- backing down
- balancing
- changeable
- conflicted
- considering
- dallying
- dawdling
- debating
- delaying
- deliberating
- disinclined
- dithering
- doubtful
- dubious
- equivocal
- equivocating
- faltering
- fluctuating
- halting
- hanging back
- hawing
- hedging
- hemming
- hesitant
- hesitating
- inconstant
- indecisive
- indisposed
- irresolute
- lingering
- loath
- loathe
- loth
- oscillating
- pausing
- pondering
- procrastinating
- pussyfooting
- questioning
- reluctant
- scrupling
- shifting
- shilly-shallying
- staggering
- swaying
- teetering
- tentative
- tottering
- uncertain
- undecided
- unsettled
- unsteady
- unsure
- vacillant
- vibrating
- volatile
- wabbling
- wabbly
- waffling
- waiting
- wavering
- weighing
- wobbling
- wobbly