backslide

[bak-slahyd]

verb (used without object)

backslid, backslid, backslidden, backsliding. 

1. to relapse into bad habits, sinful behavior, or undesirable activities.

noun

1. an act or instance of backsliding.

   a backslide from his early training.

backslide

/ ˈbækˌslaɪd /

verb

1. (intr) to lapse into bad habits or vices from a state of virtue, religious faith, etc

Other Word Forms

• backslider noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of backslide¹

First recorded in 1575–85; back ² + slide

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Canada is backsliding on its carbon commitments.

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LGBTQ+ candidates have been motivated to run for political office across the country by recent backsliding on queer rights nationally, but also by local issues important to their communities.

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The concept of "democratic backsliding" and whether it's happening in the United States, however, does not have to rely on fraught debates referencing the rise of 20th Century fascism.

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Such remarks have left some longtime observers worried that the department is backsliding to the days when department leaders tolerated pervasive and excessive use of force.

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Not that we need much of a reminder, but we are presently backsliding into the future in a way that makes the technocracy Scott introduced in 1979 more plausible than ever.

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