backhanded
Americanadjective
-
performed with the hand turned backward, crosswise, or in any oblique direction so that the palm of the hand faces in the direction of the body and the back of the hand faces in the direction of forward movement.
-
sloping in a downward direction from left to right.
backhanded writing.
-
oblique or ambiguous in meaning; indirect; insincere or malicious; wry.
backhanded methods; a backhanded compliment.
-
Ropemaking. noting a rope in which the yarns and the strands are laid in the same direction, the rope itself being laid in the opposite direction.
adverb
adjective
-
(of a blow, shot, stroke, etc) performed with the arm moving across the body
-
double-edged; equivocal
a backhanded compliment
-
(of handwriting) slanting to the left
-
(of a rope) twisted in the opposite way to the normal right-handed direction
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of backhanded
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.
The most backhanded of backhanded compliments is paid to reporter Seymour Hersh during the documentary “Cover-Up,” and by the unlikeliest of sources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
Werenski put the Blue Jackets back on top before Jenner backhanded in the rebound of an Ivan Provorov shot just 19 seconds later to make it 3–1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 27, 2025
They may also chip away at your mood slowly, through backhanded compliments or pressuring you to be upbeat, where they don't allow you to express how you are really feeling.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2025
This outwardly aloof but blatantly defensive tone seemed to acknowledge, in its backhanded way, that his critics had struck a nerve.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
