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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

setback en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Deverbal from set back. Compare drawback.

Meanings

  1. An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome).
    • DUKAT: I blame no one but myself. I was indiscreet. I compromised myself and have been punished accordingly. If someone under my command had behaved so outrageously, I would do the same thing to him. Besides, I assure you, this is only a temporary setback. Everything I have lost, I will regain. It's only a matter of time. 1996, “Return to Grace”, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4, episode 14 (Science Fiction), →OCLC:
    • After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way.
    • The Constitutional Court has ruled today, November 17th, that Section 1448 of the Thai Civil and Commercial, stating that “a marriage can take place only between a man and a woman”, is constitutional under the Thai constitutional law. This decision could be a major setback for many Thai LGBTQ activist groups’ continued journey of what they call basic human rights to legally allow same-sex marriages in Thailand. 2021 November 17, Nop Meechukhun, “Thailand’s Constitutional Court rules Section 1448 of heterosexual marriages lawful, LGBTQ rights groups ‘disappointed’”, in The Pattaya News, Bangkok: The Pattaya News Company Limited, retrieved 17 Nov 2021:
  2. (broadly) Any adverse event, defeat, or impediment of progress.
  3. (US) The required distance between a structure and a road.
  4. A step-like recession in a wall.
    • Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.
  5. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual.
    • Fuel savings from thermostat setbacks have long been accepted as fact, but little documentation existed to support it. 1980, Popular Science, volume 217, number 4:
  6. (archaic, possibly) A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.
  7. (archaic) A backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
setbacks Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

turn a setback into a comeback

Synonyms

stepback · reversal · rebuff

Translations (36)

es mazazo (adverse event, obstacle) · fi takaisku (adverse event, obstacle) · de Hindernis (adverse event, obstacle) · es descalabro (adverse event, obstacle) · sk prekážka (adverse event, obstacle) · fr obstacle (adverse event, obstacle) · es varapalo (adverse event, obstacle) · cs překážka (adverse event, obstacle) · fr contretemps (adverse event, obstacle) · it contrattempo (adverse event, obstacle) · sk komplikácia (adverse event, obstacle) · ca contratemps (adverse event, obstacle) · it impedimento (adverse event, obstacle) · nn tilbakeslag (adverse event, obstacle) · gl foda (adverse event, obstacle) · da tilbageslag (adverse event, obstacle) · es percance (adverse event, obstacle) · ru препя́тствие (adverse event, obstacle) · es contratiempo (adverse event, obstacle) · pt contratempo (adverse event, obstacle) · bg пречка (adverse event, obstacle) · ar نَكْسَة (adverse event, obstacle) · cs problém (adverse event, obstacle) · gl contratempo (adverse event, obstacle) · sk problém (adverse event, obstacle) · gd amaladh (adverse event, obstacle) · pt contrariedade (adverse event, obstacle) · it insuccesso (adverse event, obstacle) · de Rückschlag (adverse event, obstacle) · bg препятствие (adverse event, obstacle) · tr aksilik (adverse event, obstacle) · cs komplikace (adverse event, obstacle) · sv bakslag (adverse event, obstacle) · ru заде́ржка (adverse event, obstacle) · nl tegenslag (adverse event, obstacle) · nb tilbakeslag (adverse event, obstacle)