as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
they purposely vacationed in the backlands to get away from people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backlands
Noun
-
Otherwise, there is not a great deal for miles around other than fields and countryside, cattle and birdsong and the occasional row of thatched cottages.—
Daniel Taylor,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025 -
Radwan Alo fled his home in the countryside outside Qardaha, the hometown of the Assad family, and crossed the river into Lebanon.—
Hogir Abdo,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
For example, summer offers bushes for hiding, while winter’s snow will crunch under your feet, potentially alerting enemies.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
-
It’s abandoned now and has fallen into disrepair, with broken slats on the wood steps and prickly bushes growing over the front porch.—
Melinda Newman,
Billboard,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Celebrity can be as alluring as royalty to someone who grew up eating gruel in the hinterlands, though such concepts must be imparted somehow.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
-
From obscurity to fame Pandas once roamed a vast swath of China, along with parts of northern Myanmar and Vietnam, but human encroachment and climate change shrank the habitat of the bamboo-munching bears to just six mountain ranges above the Sichuan basin, deep in China’s hinterland.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Reece shows Freddy that desperate times can call for operating outside the lines, while Freddy’s commitment to family, country, and cause will help guide Reece on his path to redemption.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2025
-
The court's unprecedented decision last year plunged the European Union and NATO member country into a protracted political crisis.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Chaotic warrens in rundown backwaters, such as the desolate apartment complex where Beibei’s grandmother used to live, suggest neglect that’s far from benign.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
29 Jan. 2025
-
Why are the Ukrainians risking lives and resources on a comparatively meaningless action in a sector that’s a relative backwater, when critical Ukrainian strongpoints in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast are under relentless Russian assault?—
David Axe,
Forbes,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
While most automakers have relegated AI to safety-system technology in current models, Mercedes' use of AI in the cabin is a new frontier for the North American market, especially for a vehicle on the lower end of a company's lineup.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Newsweek,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America’s Old West, and as a tool of terror and political repression in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.—
Jeffrey Collins,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Taking readers on a high-octane journey through the Australian outback, the story centers on Harvey Buck, a former soldier racing against time to reach his dying girlfriend.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2025
-
With just a hundred or so residents in an area bigger than the Netherlands, this piece of the Australian outback is something precious in a world swamped by wireless signals: an island of unusual calm, a clear window onto the cosmos.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Nov. 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Backlands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backlands. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share