backslide

[bak-slahyd]

See more synonyms for backslide on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), back·slid, back·slid or back·slid·den, back·slid·ing.

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

noun

an act or instance of backsliding: a backslide from his early training.

Origin of backslide

First recorded in 1575–85; back² + slide

Related formsback·slid·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for backslide

relapse, lapse, revert, sin, apostatize, slip, deviate

Examples from the Web for backslide

Contemporary Examples of backslide

But what about the formerly middle-class African Americans who find themselves on the backslide?
How Much Does 'Culture' Matter for 'Inner-City' Poverty?
Jamelle Bouie
March 20, 2014

Historical Examples of backslide

She was only thinking that "it was a heap better to repent 'n to backslide."
Moriah's Mourning and Other Half-Hour Sketches
Ruth McEnery Stuart
Did not I, even I, in thy presence, backslide into intemperance and folly?
Jacob Faithful
Captain Frederick Marryat
Having slept in a duchess's bed, Kedzie would not backslide.
We Can't Have Everything
Rupert Hughes
They will no longer be tolerated, nor will converted Israel backslide again.
The Prophet Ezekiel
Arno C. Gaebelein
If thou turn us not, we shall never turn; it is in our nature to backslide for ever.
The Power of Faith
Isabella Graham

British Dictionary definitions for backslide

backslide

verb -slides, -sliding, -slid, -slid or -slidden

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

Derived Formsbackslider, 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

Word Origin and History for backslide

in the religious sense, 1580s, from back (adj.) + slide (v.). Related: Backslider; backsliding (1550s).