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View synonyms for backlash

backlash

[ bak-lash ]

noun

  1. a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.
  2. a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change:

    a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.

  3. Machinery.
    1. 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.
    2. play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.
  4. Angling. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.


verb (used without object)

  1. to make or undergo a backlash.

backlash

/ ˈbækˌlæʃ /

noun

  1. a reaction or recoil between interacting worn or badly fitting parts in a mechanism
  2. the play between parts
  3. a sudden and adverse reaction, esp to a political or social development

    a public backlash against the government is inevitable



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Word History and Origins

Origin of backlash1

First recorded in 1805–15; back 2 + lash 1

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Example Sentences

None of these, though, has inspired quite the same backlash as fluoride.

They know they will face either a swift backlash or deafening silence.

The state was in a deep recession as Duke galvanized a racial backlash.

Facing a political backlash, they reversed course in 2011 and announced that the military commission process would be restarted.

Vieira dumped his personal Facebook page a few weeks ago, partly in anticipation of more backlash that will come with the show.

But he was sure of its source; it had not been any backlash of the Red caller!

Extrapolating Russian history, it would be reasonable to expect a backlash in the form of a counterrevolution.

As these unpleasant truths emerge, the bitterness, resentment and disillusionment will grow and a backlash will develop.

The backlash of that blast must have caught the majority of the lights also.

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back in harnessbackless