What does "backlash" mean?
A suddenly reversed or backward motion, such as of a rope or elastic band when it snaps under tension.
Backlash
/ˈbækˌlæʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A suddenly reversed or backward motion, such as of a rope or elastic band when it snaps under tension.
- Grammar: backlash is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: recoil, repercussion, antagonism, antipathy.
- Useful contrasts: acquiescence, advance, approval.
- Usage evidence: The bribery scandal created a backlash overseas.
How to use "backlash"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "backlash" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "backlash" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "backlash" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "backlash" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "backlash" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "recoil" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "backlash", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A suddenly reversed or backward motion, such as of a rope or elastic band when it snaps under tension. countable, uncountable
- 2 an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence wordnet
- 3 A negative reaction, objection or outcry, especially of a violent or abrupt nature. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"The public backlash to the proposal was quick and insistent."
- 4 a movement back from an impact wordnet
- 5 The looseness through which one part of connected machinery, such as a wheel, gear, piston, or screw, can be moved without moving the connected parts, or a measurement of the distance moved thereby; either intentional (as allowance) or unintentional (from error or wear). countable, uncountable
"... the word "backlash" is used in the extended sense in which it is understood in Lancashire and Yorkshire , including not only backlash proper , but also break of contact between the working faces of the teeth of the two wheels when the driven wheel overruns the driver without actual backlash . To place rope or belt drums of any considerable size upon shafts driven by spur gearing is nearly always dangerous."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 The jarring or reflex motion caused in badly fitting machinery by irregularities in velocity or a reverse of motion. countable, uncountable
"In ...breakages from high speed and irregular pitch, ten out of the eleven wheels had spur segments moulded from patterns, instead of by machinery; and in three of the ten the teeth were cast upon the felks, and were twisted and drawn, as they generally are when cast in this way, by the contraction of the mass of metal of which they form a part. In every instance the speed was high, and in several cases there was more or less backlash or over-running."
Verb
- 1 To perform a backlash, to lash back in reaction to some cause.
"1894 William Westall. Tinkler. Ludgate Illustrated Magazine. Vol VIII Thrutch factory was a queer old concern. It had been built piecemeal-here a bit and there a bit. There were a new end and an old end, the spinning-rooms in the one being light and lofty, in the other low. and gloomy. Looms were shoved in everywhere. There were a "long shop" with three hundred, a "top shop" with a hundred, a "back shop" with fifty-three, and a "little shop" with fifteen. Never was its equal for gearing. Shafts were everywhere inside and out, overground and underground, climbing snake-like up the walls, and boring into the roofs; spurwheels, great and small, whirled, clashed and "backlashed" all over the place."
- 2 come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"The bribery scandal created a backlash overseas."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "backlash"?
Common synonyms include: recoil, repercussion, antagonism, antipathy, backfire, backfire.
How do you use "backlash" in a sentence?
The bribery scandal created a backlash overseas.
How do you pronounce "backlash"?
Pronounced /ˈbækˌlæʃ/.
Etymology
From back- + lash.