setback

Meaning

1. An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, blow (an adverse event which retards or prevents progress towards a desired outcome)
2. The required distance between a structure and a road.
3. A step-like recession in a wall.
4. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual.
5. A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.
6. A backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse.

Synonyms

reversal

reverse

failure

misfortune

relapse

black eye

regression

discouragement

obstacle

frustration

blow

recession

chess

recoil

defection

deference

dud

flivver

flop

flunk

hardship

hitch

licking

misadventure

misfire

mishap

pause

rebound

recidivism

recrudescence

retreat

stagnation

stumbling

subsidence

washout

whammy

chesspieces

backsetting

abortion

miscarriage

rough sledding

setting back

setting backward

non event

a near miss

recedence

stop

🛑

setback type

abeyance

adversity

backfire

backlash

blowback

boomerang

🪃

breakdown

check

collapse

contretemps

crouch

deadlock

defeat

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɛtbæk/

Etymology

Deverbal from set back.