backbite

American  

[bak-bahyt] / ˈbækˌbaɪt /

verb (used with object)

backbit, backbitten, backbit, backbiting

1. to attack the character or reputation of (a person who is not present).

   Synonyms:

   defame, libel, slander, deprecate, disparage, belittle

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verb (used without object)

backbit, backbitten, backbit, backbiting

1. to speak unfavorably or slanderously of a person who is not present.

backbite British  

/ ˈbækˌbaɪt /

verb

1. to talk spitefully about (an absent person)

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Other Word Forms

• backbiter noun

Etymology

Origin of backbite

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; back ¹, bite

Example Sentences

That kind of provocative behavior will lead to years, even a lifetime, of one-upmanship, backbiting and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.

From MarketWatch

In the book, Khachigian doesn’t pull punches in condemning backbiting and turf building by ambitious presidential aides.

From Los Angeles Times

You don't see the kind of backbiting and rivalries that I think you see elsewhere.

From Salon

Women had organized protests against enclosures with the help of other women, but conversations among them were now so stigmatized that “gossip” came to mean frivolous chatter or backbiting.

From Scientific American

It is too much to blame a single individual, as despicable as Carlson may be, for leading a whole country into a slough of anger, backbiting, recrimination and mistrust.

From Los Angeles Times