Synonyms

backslide

American

[bak-slahyd] / ˈbækˌslaɪd /

verb (used without object)

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

noun

an act or instance of backsliding.

a backslide from his early training.

backslide British

/ ˈbækˌslaɪd /

verb

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

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

backslider

noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of backslide

First recorded in 1575–85; back ² + slide

Explanation

To backslide is to revert to a worse state. If you've spent months breaking your bad habit of biting your nails, you'll have to care not to backslide. If you’re sliding back, you’re not going forward or even staying in the same place. That should help you remember that backsliding is a lapse in behavior or standards. If you backslide, you’re reverting to past behavior that was not good. A reformed criminal going back to crime is backsliding. When you backslide, you slip to a lower level. Backsliding is the opposite of making progress.

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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.

More than 3.7 million people are internally displaced in Myanmar, according to the United Nations, and more one in five people face acute food insecurity amid a national backslide into poverty.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

How did public health backslide so hard that it undid decades of progress—and is there any hope we can get back on track?

From Slate • Jul. 11, 2025

As someone who has spent a fair chunk of their adult life being probably too concerned with the proper lighting for every occasion, I can’t stand to see this backslide go any further.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025

Rodgers is an excellent example of the backslide.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2024

Just by letting Will backslide, forget and grow careless.

From Green Valley by Reynolds, Katharine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023