backlash

American  

[bak-lash] / ˈbækˌlæʃ /

noun

• backlashes
  plural

1. a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.

2. a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change.

   a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.

3. Machinery.

   1. 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.

   2. play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.

4. Angling. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make or undergo a backlash.

backlash British  

/ ˈbækˌlæʃ /

noun

1. a reaction or recoil between interacting worn or badly fitting parts in a mechanism

2. the play between parts

3. a sudden and adverse reaction, esp to a political or social development

   a public backlash against the government is inevitable

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• backlashes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of backlash

First recorded in 1805–15; back ² + lash ¹

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backlash backlashes

Bankers advising data center developers on sales and capital raises said the backlash is causing some buyers to view infrastructure companies as a risky investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

But the paranoid backlash came just as quickly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

A backlash has been building against data centres across the world, from the US to the UK to parts of Asia, as tech companies pour billions into AI infrastructure.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

“Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store,” the business wrote on Instagram, describing the backlash as a “surreal experience.”

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

As for you, she’d say to me, you’re just a backlash.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Several celebrities or influencers who have ventured into the crypto market have faced similar backlashes.

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2024

There have been counterforces and backlashes and overcorrections, and then forward motion again—usually when the public is convinced that a change is only fair.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2024

By starting the exercise while most students were away on winter break, university leaders minimized the raucous backlashes that have bedeviled previous attempts by campus officials to take control of the park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Egyptian women have faced public backlashes as well.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

Change has been so big and breakneck since “The Boys in the Band” that you can hardly tell the backlashes from the front ones.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022

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Related Words

• reaction
• repercussion
• resentment
• resistance
• response
• retaliation

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