as in collapsed
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
my plan to throw her a surprise party backfired when she ended up thinking that everyone had forgotten her birthday
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Recent Examples of backfired
The gamble backfired and his centrist bloc lost seats to both extremes, leaving France with a three-way split parliament and a government that could not pass major legislation.
—
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Many of Thomson’s decisions were rooted in logic, and almost all of them backfired.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
But from that point, the stock steadily declined as Donahoe’s plan backfired once the pandemic stabilized and shoppers returned to in-store shopping.
—Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
When the snap legislative elections called by Macron backfired, delivering a hung Parliament since July 2024, the French leader held to the belief that his centrist camp could continue to govern effectively, despite having no stable majority, by building alliances in the National Assembly.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The Hurricanes recovered another onside kick attempt and killed a good amount of clock before their decision to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the FSU 23 instead of attempt a 41-yard field goal backfired.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
The decision instantly backfired.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Indeed, many bans like these have backfired on the Kremlin.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
These initiatives, and others like them, have succeeded, failed, or backfired, to varying degrees.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2025
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Many of Thomson’s decisions were rooted in logic, and almost all of them backfired.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
But from that point, the stock steadily declined as Donahoe’s plan backfired once the pandemic stabilized and shoppers returned to in-store shopping.
—Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
When the snap legislative elections called by Macron backfired, delivering a hung Parliament since July 2024, the French leader held to the belief that his centrist camp could continue to govern effectively, despite having no stable majority, by building alliances in the National Assembly.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The Hurricanes recovered another onside kick attempt and killed a good amount of clock before their decision to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the FSU 23 instead of attempt a 41-yard field goal backfired.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
The decision instantly backfired.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Indeed, many bans like these have backfired on the Kremlin.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
These initiatives, and others like them, have succeeded, failed, or backfired, to varying degrees.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backfired
Verb
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After the state distributor Embrafilme was dismantled in 1990, national production nearly collapsed, silencing a generation of filmmakers.—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
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As for that Oregon-Penn State game, the Nittany Lions have full-on collapsed since Drew Allar’s OT interception gave the Ducks what looked like an impressive victory.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This drama — a remake of an Oscar-winning Argentine film — flopped mightily upon release, but Roberts was quite compelling in it.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
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Two years later, the two companies launched a humanoid robot called Pepper — a bet that ultimately flopped, but robotics has now re-emerged as a key focus for the Japanese giant.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The most blatant of those on Sunday was Kelce converting a great opportunity into a play that boomeranged the other way.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backfired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backfired. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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