Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

backtalk

  • a variation of back talk.
    back talk
    noun
    rude or disrespectful replies to the requests or directives of an authority figure; sass.

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.

See Examples For:

There will be backtalk, and lashings, and controversy, Mazariegos imagines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2023

"Superintelligence" stars McCarthy as an ordinary woman whose TV, phone, and microwave start giving her snarky backtalk.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2020

Or there’s the impossible one: Wrench those phones out of your teens’ hands and tell them to go straight back to 1985, right now, no backtalk.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2017

Beantown denizens put off readers with their Brahmin-like brains and their skillful backtalk: they ranked at No. 5 in the survey for both intelligence and rudeness.

From Time ● Aug. 13, 2015

Truth is, I’m so nervous right now, I’d never backtalk again if it meant I’d get this job.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

More Suggestions