Wiktionary
vb. (context intransitive English) To move in a direction opposite where one is facing, keeping some (or most) of your attention on the thing in front being avoided.
WordNet
v. make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity; "We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns" [syn: retreat, pull back, back out, crawfish, crawfish out, pull in one's horns, withdraw]
Usage examples of "back away".
June Garin stood back aways so she could take pictures of us standing up there with our arms around each other, laughing.
For an instant Tay thought he under stood the magic, how it had derived from misguided use of the Black Elfstone, but the proximity of his understanding threatened the last vestige of his sanity, the small kernel of what held him to his purpose, and he was forced to back away.