back down

céder, reculer

Cesser d’insister sur ce qu’on veut ou croit au cours d’un désaccord.

En anglais simple : To stop insisting on what you want or believe during an argument or disagreement.

• Neither side would back down.
• She backed down when he showed her the evidence.
• Will the government back down on its demands?

Comment l'utiliser : back down over/on something (The council backed down over the parking charges.)

Synonymes : give way, yield, relent

Contraires : stand firm

Expressions courantes : back down completely, back down over something, never back down

se rétracter, revenir sur son engagement

Ne plus soutenir une position ou renoncer à faire quelque chose qu’on avait accepté de faire.

En anglais simple : To stop supporting a position or doing something you previously agreed to do.

• You promised, so do not back down now.
• She backed down from her commitment to help.
• They backed down from the deal at the last minute.

Comment l'utiliser : back down from something (He backed down from his promise to fund the project.)

Synonymes : back out, withdraw

Expressions courantes : back down from something, back down later, back down now

faire céder

Amener quelqu’un à ne plus résister ou insister sur ses exigences.

En anglais simple : To make someone stop resisting or insisting on their demands.

• They backed the bully down.
• Firm questioning backed the witness down from his earlier claims.
• Could we back them down without using threats?

Comment l'utiliser : back someone down (She backed him down by challenging his evidence.)

Synonymes : make someone yield, force someone to relent

Expressions courantes : back someone down, back down opponents