back down vs recede

back down and recede both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
back down	No	No	Yes	No
recede	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, recede is a hypernym of back down; that is, recede is a word with a broader meaning than back down:

Other hypernyms of back down include draw back, move back, pull away, pull back, retire, retreat, withdraw.

back down (verb)	recede (verb)
move backwards from a certain position	become faint or more distant
remove oneself from an obligation	retreat
	pull back or move away or backward