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; see origin at back ¹, bite

Example Sentences

Characters backbite, bellyache, reluctantly pitch in and commit mundane acts of heroism in a largely believable manner, and there’s blessedly little inspirational speechmaking.

From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2022

Diana could spin one delicious backbite like that into a column.

From Time Magazine Archive

Let us pitch ill-nature into the sea—as the boys say—and henceforth backbite no more.

From The Exemplary Novels of Cervantes by Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de

They backbite, they slander me before the king my lord, saying: Abdi-hiba has fallen away from the king his lord.

From The Christian View of the Old Testament by Eiselen, Frederick Carl

You mean, I suppose, you would not swear away any man's life falsely before a magistrate, but do you take equal care not to slander or backbite him?

From The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain and Other Tales by More, Hannah