backlash
Americannoun
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backlashes
plural
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a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.
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a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change.
a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.
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Machinery.
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the space between the thickness of a gear tooth and the width of the space between teeth in the mating gear, designed to allow for a film of lubricant, binding from heat expansion and eccentricity, or manufacturing inaccuracies.
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play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.
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Angling. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a reaction or recoil between interacting worn or badly fitting parts in a mechanism
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the play between parts
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a sudden and adverse reaction, esp to a political or social development
a public backlash against the government is inevitable
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of backlash
Explanation
When many people react against something in the same way, you can call it a backlash. A backlash against government policies can result in mass protests. When people get angry enough about something — or just tired of hearing about it — the result can be a backlash. An influx of refugees to a city can cause a backlash against immigration, and the popularity of a particular style of music might eventually cause a backlash against it. A true backlash involves many people acting together. The original, 1815 meaning of backlash was "recoil between parts of a machine." It wasn't until the 1950's that the figurative meaning came into use.
Vocabulary lists containing backlash
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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.
See Examples For:
The announcement came after Hochman faced backlash for the decision to prosecute Flores, with L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Ukraine's lawmakers approved the country's new defence minister on Wednesday, a month after a reshuffle that triggered a public backlash after the dismissal of his popular predecessor Mykhailo Fedorov.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
That is rapidly changing in the face of a volcanic grassroots backlash that threatens the foundations of the AI boom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The figures come after Prime Minister Andy Burnham made more prisoners exempt from the upcoming early release scheme following backlash from victims.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The board would fear a backlash should it grant the same sum for a project “which an unsympathetic and inaccurate critic might describe as a single instrument for one man.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Several celebrities or influencers who have ventured into the crypto market have faced similar backlashes.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2024
There have been counterforces and backlashes and overcorrections, and then forward motion again—usually when the public is convinced that a change is only fair.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2024
By starting the exercise while most students were away on winter break, university leaders minimized the raucous backlashes that have bedeviled previous attempts by campus officials to take control of the park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024
Yet Redmond has avoided legal fights over light-rail and backlashes to growth that have vexed nearby towns.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
The backlashes repeat a long cycle in immigration policy, experts say.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
