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
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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.
Vasquez’s fears stemmed less from corporate backlash and more from his past life as a raver traversing Orange County and L.A.’s late-night scenes.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026
Even as the AI backlash hit the stock market, chip makers and data-center developers continued to raise capital and make acquisitions, doubling down on the boom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
There is also a "risk of a backlash against some of these technologies", he warned.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
What followed was a backlash that few could have anticipated.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
King expected a backlash, but he wasn’t prepared for the storm of criticism that came at him from all directions.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
