set-back
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Structure where a wall or building narrows abruptly.
Pronunciation
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Structure where a wall or building narrows abruptly
verb
Hold back to a later time
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Structure where a wall or building narrows abruptly
Used this way, set-back is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Sudden and forceful
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.