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backlash

[bak-lash]

noun

a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.

a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change: a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.

Machinery.

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.

play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.

Angling. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.

verb (used without object)

to make or undergo a backlash.

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Backlash is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to bark; yelp.

to run away hurriedly; flee.

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Origin:
1805–15; back² + lash¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To backlash

Example Sentences

Charter school advocates across the country are watching the crackdown, fearful that the backlash could spread.

In many instances today, there is a negative backlash against the faculty.

Unless a solution is found to sluggish real wages and rising inequality, there is a serious risk of a protectionist backlash.

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Charter school advocates across the country are watching the crackdown, fearful that the backlash could spread.

In many instances today, there is a negative backlash against the faculty.

Unless a solution is found to sluggish real wages and rising inequality, there is a serious risk of a protectionist backlash.

Some native groups fear the repercussions of a renewed backlash against the harp seal harvest.

Other researchers worry that this casual approach to disclosure could create a backlash against the technology.

Two, a great many of us are at risk for the backlash by the ignorant.

Netflix is losing more than it expected from the backlash over its recent price hike.

The inquiry follows a public backlash over a fatal shooting by the police, as well as beatings.

Just say you apply that phrase to race and you know the backlash would be fast and furious.

In its crudest form-the idea that economics as a whole is discredited-the current backlash has gone far too far.

Though subtle, it seems that the church phenomenon is backlash to globalization.

Apple's iPhone is still six months from store shelves, but the backlash has already begun.

Students, plagiarizers and non-plagiarizers alike, have already begun to feel the backlash.

Hopefully a backlash against tenure will not sweep away reasonable forms of job security and academic freedom.

The charm offensive may not be enough to quell the backlash.

Some observers already fear a backlash brewing in the area.

But a backlash emerged within the news media and among academics and government officials over the social and environmental costs.

Make the student feel good and you will have to deal with less backlash.

But as the backlash continues against diversified industrial giants.

In fact, it has inspired a lawsuit and seems to have generated nothing but backlash from potential customers.

The current recession comes on top of a nationwide backlash against the homeless, who, even as.

And it's a fairly recent novel against which there's been a backlash for some time now.

The backlash against the big three main parties stunned politicians and commentators alike.

Cover your work surface with plastic to avoid future unneeded backlash from the person to whom you are dedicating your balloon.

The backlash against the wealth being created by managers of hedge funds and private equity funds may be gaining strength.

The raid produced an angry backlash against the university and generated enormous sympathy for the protesters.

But they failed to restrain themselves, and the backlash has begun.

Add in the slack from a loose chain and the backlash is even greater.

Possibly it's the long-in-coming backlash against the excesses of the women's movement.

Not only is there the danger of a protectionist backlash.

Some wonder if a similar backlash may be looming with respect to gay rights.

On both occasions, the reforms led nowhere and there was ultimately a backlash by hardliners within the regime.

But there are two aspects of the proposals that might yet provoke a bigger backlash.

There is already a backlash against genomics, which has been oversold to consumers as a deterministic science.

The rich are certainly not the only targets in the current populist backlash.

More exposure may help ease culture clashes between individuals, but tackling the political backlash against immigrants is harder.

Making trade fairer is important to avert a further public backlash against trade.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

backlash (ˈbækˌlæʃ)

—n
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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

backlash

1815, of machinery, from back (adj.) + lash. In metaphoric sense, it is attested from 1921.

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Matching Quote

"All of women's aspirations—whether for education, work, or any form of self-determination—ultimately rest on their ability to decide whether and when to bear children. For this reason, reproductive freedom has always been the most popular item in each of the successive feminist agendas—and the most heavily assaulted target of each backlash."

-Susan Faludi

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backlash

back·lash