The phrase "a sharp setback when" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a significant decline or obstacle that occurs at a specific moment or event.
Example: "The company experienced a sharp setback when the new product failed to meet consumer expectations."
Alternatives: "a significant decline when" or "a major obstacle when".
But the effort suffered a sharp setback when Republicans, over the objections of Mr. Bush, pressed to restrict immigration severely.
DAVID BARBOZA BROADCASTER VICTORY The Federal Communications Commission and the Bush administration suffered a sharp setback when a federal appeals court struck down the government policy of punishing networks and stations for broadcasting shows with fleeting obscenities.
The Federal Communications Commission and the Bush administration suffered a sharp setback when a federal appeals court struck down the government policy of punishing networks and stations for broadcasting shows with fleeting obscenities.
That campaign suffered a sharp setback in September when the judge in the case, Eugene H. Nickerson, issued a sharply worded opinion denying Mr. Schwarz's request for a new trial.
Substantial recovery started in the 1960s, only to suffer a sharp setback in the early '70s, when the bulk of the U.S. Navy's operations in the state were reassigned elsewhere.
That was in 1998, when it slashed rates by half a percentage point on fears of a sharp setback to the global economy.
The vote was a sharp setback to unionization drives at the traditionally nonunion airline.
The verdict was a sharp setback for Pentagon officials, who had contended they could detain him indefinitely.
The statements, by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and others, were a sharp setback for Ms. Rice's efforts to reach a consensus on Iran's nuclear program.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. announced yesterday that it would not endorse a Democratic presidential candidate this month, dealing a sharp setback to the campaign of Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri.
In Greece, the governing conservatives suffered a sharp setback in the elections, seen as an acid test for Kostas Karamanlis, the prime minister.
