🏌️ A backward swing 🔄 A return movement

backswing

1 5.3

A return to an earlier state or opinion after a change

noun
/ˈbækswɪŋ/

: retroceso

Examples

Speak in my backswing, but you have to say what I say.
During his golf lesson, he was advised to slow down his backswing for more accuracy.
The artist's backswing in her style sparked a trend in modern painting techniques.
Many believe that the politician's recent comments are a significant backswing from his earlier position on climate change.

Synonyms

going backward

vsbackswing

47 3.7

Moving back to an earlier state instead of making progress

is neutral movement toward an earlier state, sometimes figurative

backtracking

vsbackswing

5 5.5

Changing a previous promise, decision, or opinion

is a general return toward an earlier state or trend

backflip

vsbackswing

Literature

1 6.6

A sudden public change of a decision or promise

is a broader return not necessarily abrupt or dramatic

turnback

vsbackswing

1 4.4

A decision to stop a journey and go back because of a problem

is mainly used for trends or opinions rather than physical routes

How Pronounced

reversal

Formal

9 4.2

backswing

1 5.3

Surface Forms

backswing singular

backswings plural

Morphology

backswing = back + swing (semi-transparent) = back + swing

The figurative meaning ('a return toward a previous state') is a metaphorical extension of 'back' + 'swing' and requires inference beyond the literal motion.

Etymology

Backswing uses the same parts, back ('behind') and swing ('to move back and forth'), and so it can mean a movement or change that 'swings' back toward an earlier position, which is why people use it for a return to a previous state.