Definition

Verb: 1. To move backward, to retreat: Describes the physical action of moving one's body or an object in a backward direction, often with a sudden or jerky motion. 2. To regress, to degenerate: Describes a figurative movement backward, indicating a decline, deterioration, or return to a worse state.

Usage Examples

• Literal (to move back):
  • Khi thấy con rắn, anh ấy giật lùi lại. (When he saw the snake, he moved back/jerked backward.)
  • Tài xế phải giật lùi xe ra khỏi ngõ hẹp. (The driver had to reverse the car out of the narrow alley.)
• Figurative (to regress):
  • Nền kinh tế có nguy cơ giật lùi sau khủng hoảng. (The economy risks regressing after the crisis.)
  • Đừng để bản thân giật lùi vì sự lười biếng. (Don't let yourself regress because of laziness.)

Advanced Usage

• "giật lùi trước khó khăn": to recoil or retreat in the face of difficulty.
  • Một nhà lãnh đạo thực thụ không bao giờ giật lùi trước khó khăn. (A true leader never recoils in the face of difficulty.)
• "sự giật lùi" (noun form): regression, setback.
  • Sự giật lùi của xã hội là điều không thể chấp nhận. (The regression of society is unacceptable.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thụt lùi (verb): Often used interchangeably with "giật lùi" in the figurative sense, meaning to regress or fall behind.
  • Công nghệ thụt lùi so với các nước láng giềng. (Technology has fallen behind compared to neighboring countries.)
• Lùi lại (verb): To move back or step back, generally without the connotation of a jerk or decline.
  • Xin mọi người lùi lại một chút. (Please everyone, step back a little.)

Synonyms

• Lùi (verb): to go back, to retreat.
• Thoái lui (verb): to withdraw, to retreat (often used in military or formal contexts).
• Suy thoái (verb): to degenerate, to deteriorate (stronger, often for systems or morality).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Giật lùi về phía sau: to jerk backward.
  • Cú nổ khiến mọi người giật lùi về phía sau. (The explosion made everyone jerk backward.)
• Giật lùi trước cái mới: to recoil from new things.
  • Tư duy bảo thủ thường giật lùi trước cái mới. (Conservative thinking often recoils from new things.)

Related Idioms

• "Tiến thoái lưỡng nan": To be in a dilemma, caught between advancing and retreating. This idiom shares the concept of backward movement ("thoái" meaning retreat).
  • Dự án này khiến tôi rơi vào thế tiến thoái lưỡng nan. (This project has put me in a dilemma.)
• "Phú quý giật lùi": An idiom meaning that wealth and nobility cause one to regress morally or in character.
  • Câu chuyện ấy là một minh chứng cho "phú quý giật lùi". (That story is evidence for the saying "wealth leads to moral regression.")

verb

1. to move back