as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
a distant backwater that didn't even have electricity at that time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of backwater
Who knew there’d be so many backwater swamps, potholes and detours on the road to making America great again.
—
Steve Lopez, Mercury News, 7 May 2025
The cultural divisions between them are strong but prove, in fact, to be inconsequential; some shared yearning for the world beyond their backwater town draws them ineluctably to one another.
—Vivian Gornick, The Atlantic, 3 May 2025
Most botanists from the mid-19th century viewed their study as a research backwater.
—Alla Katsnelson, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
Take the short two-mile drive to Taylor Lake to see one of the river’s scenic backwater lakes.
—Jenna Blough, Outside Online, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Steve Lopez, Mercury News, 7 May 2025
The cultural divisions between them are strong but prove, in fact, to be inconsequential; some shared yearning for the world beyond their backwater town draws them ineluctably to one another.
—Vivian Gornick, The Atlantic, 3 May 2025
Most botanists from the mid-19th century viewed their study as a research backwater.
—Alla Katsnelson, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
Take the short two-mile drive to Taylor Lake to see one of the river’s scenic backwater lakes.
—Jenna Blough, Outside Online, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
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Save everything possible in the houses and the countryside; bury possessions and harvest.—
Ann Goldstein,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
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Piani’s French-English production basks in the Austen milieu but tweaks things, including the lovely English countryside.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Bots paying other bots are a new frontier for the payments industry that needs new rails.—
David G.W. Birch,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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Longevity Lifestyle Coaches Matt Britton, CEO of Suzy and a leading AI and consumer trend expert advising Fortune 500 brands, sees health as a frontier for job creation.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Which windows are riskiest Some windows are much worse than others, depending on their proximity to bushes and other bird habitats, what is reflected in them, and how interior lighting exacerbates or diminishes the mirror effect.—
Jason Hoeksema,
The Conversation,
21 May 2025
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Footage from the area also shows Barker discarding the knife in nearby bushes, according to police.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Bitcoin touched a record high above $111,000, and oil prices slid after Bloomberg said oil producing member countries, or OPEC+, are discussing a potential third consecutive oil production surge in July, with an output hike of 411,000 barrels a day among the options under consideration.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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By using the name of a monument for those not present, a monument with historical ties to ancient Greece and Egypt as well as our own culture, Brock highlights how honoring the dead goes beyond culture and country.—
James Dubinsky,
JSTOR Daily,
22 May 2025
Noun
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But Census data indicate that the region’s eastern hinterlands are growing at a faster click.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2025
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Like those hinterland émigrés cobbling together a revue at a boîte, Encores!—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
Noun
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In northeastern Australia, more than a year’s worth of rain fell in just one week in March, kicking off rare flooding and a massive transformation throughout the country’s arid outback.—
Lauren Liebhaber,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2025
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But now, gin’s gone global, with new flavors popping up everywhere, from the Aussie outback to the U.S. West Coast.—
Noel Burgess,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 30 May. 2025.
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