backslide

American  

[bak-slahyd] / ˈbækˌslaɪd /

verb (used without object)

backslid, backslid, backslidden, backsliding

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

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noun

1. an act or instance of backsliding.

   a backslide from his early training.

backslide British  

/ ˈbækˌslaɪd /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

• backslider
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

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

And that does feel like a bit of a backslide because of the constriction of this industry right now.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2024

Over the past decade, Sweida had largely isolated itself from Syria’s uprising turned-conflict although it witnessed sporadic protests decrying corruption and the country’s economic backslide.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

Every year teachers and parents observe how summer vacations lead some children’s academic progress to backslide.

From Scientific American • Jun. 29, 2023

But there is even less excuse for a modern translation to backslide into the style of the eighteenth century.

From Legends & Romances of Spain by Spence, Lewis