backbite

[ bak-bahyt ]

/ ˈbækˌbaɪt /

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See synonyms for: backbite / backbiting / backbiter on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), back·bit, back·bit·ten or (Informal) back·bit; back·bit·ing.

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

verb (used without object), back·bit, back·bit·ten or (Informal) back·bit; back·bit·ing.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR backbite

1 belittle, disparage, deprecate; slander, libel, defame.

See synonyms for backbite on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Origin of backbite

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at back¹, bite

OTHER WORDS FROM backbite

backbiter, noun

How to use backbite in a sentence

The widow was no gossip, no backbiter, but a woman of opinions and a nimble tongue undeterred by fear or favor.
Sudden Jim|Clarence Budington Kelland
I know thee for a liar, a deceiver, a backbiter, and a spirit of insatiable malevolence.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 3 (of 3)|James Hogg
The flatterer, the backbiter, the spy,—these find here a rich soil.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
Would the slanderer, or backbiter, or hypocrite, indulge their habits if they realized this truth?
The Wesleyan Methodist Pulpit in Malvern|Knowles King

Here is something to confute the old backbiter,' and he clapped with his thick short hand a heavy leather pocket-book.
The Immortal|Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for backbite

backbite

/ (ˈbækˌbaɪt) /

verb -bites, -biting, -bit, -bitten or -bit

to talk spitefully about (an absent person)

Derived forms of backbite

backbiter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

backbite

OTHER WORDS FOR backbite

Origin of backbite

OTHER WORDS FROM backbite

Words related to backbite

How to use backbite in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for backbite

Derived forms of backbite