backlash
Americannoun
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a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.
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a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change.
a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.
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Machinery.
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the space between the thickness of a gear tooth and the width of the space between teeth in the mating gear, designed to allow for a film of lubricant, binding from heat expansion and eccentricity, or manufacturing inaccuracies.
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play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.
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Angling. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a reaction or recoil between interacting worn or badly fitting parts in a mechanism
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the play between parts
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a sudden and adverse reaction, esp to a political or social development
a public backlash against the government is inevitable
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of backlash
Explanation
When many people react against something in the same way, you can call it a backlash. A backlash against government policies can result in mass protests. When people get angry enough about something — or just tired of hearing about it — the result can be a backlash. An influx of refugees to a city can cause a backlash against immigration, and the popularity of a particular style of music might eventually cause a backlash against it. A true backlash involves many people acting together. The original, 1815 meaning of backlash was "recoil between parts of a machine." It wasn't until the 1950's that the figurative meaning came into use.
Vocabulary lists containing backlash
This Week in Words: January 20 - 26, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Backlash after the deaths of Good and Pretti led to Trump removing Greg Bovino, the head of the action in Minneapolis, in January.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
Backlash was so fierce that the account deleted its post, which had become “an unnecessary distraction,” Libertarian National Committee spokesman Brian McWilliams said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
Backlash would hit the show later, but when it was fresh, that gold and blue reminder to “Believe” was the medicine we needed.
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2025
Revenue from WWE’s Live Events segment jumped 51%, thanks to strong demand for its domestic and international events such as WrestleMania, Backlash and Night of Champions.
From Reuters • Aug. 2, 2023
The Backlash These new communities are perhaps why the effects of the remote, joystick and mouse represented such a tremendous threat to business as usual.
From Open Source Democracy by Rushkoff, Douglas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
