back off vs recede

back off and recede both are verbs.

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

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

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

back off (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