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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of backwater
The Israeli strike was a course correction for US foreign policy that has elevated Doha from a backwater to a global mediation center, Lee Smith writes in the conservative, pro-Israel Tablet Magazine.
—
Hadley Gamble, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2025
And has done so with the kind of diffidence that can only come from a lifetime in the sports backwaters.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025
There are endless shallow backwaters along the river to explore and there’s plenty of big water out there, too (Lake Winnieshek, for example, is almost two miles wide in places).
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Vigilant doctors and public health experts in charge of government policy mostly kept the anti-vaxxers relegated to the darker corners of medical discussion, and later to the backwaters of social media.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Hadley Gamble, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2025
And has done so with the kind of diffidence that can only come from a lifetime in the sports backwaters.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025
There are endless shallow backwaters along the river to explore and there’s plenty of big water out there, too (Lake Winnieshek, for example, is almost two miles wide in places).
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Vigilant doctors and public health experts in charge of government policy mostly kept the anti-vaxxers relegated to the darker corners of medical discussion, and later to the backwaters of social media.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
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Although Renoir’s landscapes and portraits — of the French countryside and high society — are legendary worldwide, his drawings of these subjects are not well-known, particularly to the public.—
Jane Levere,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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Filipino comics creator Budjette Tan reflects on his childhood memories of tikbálang on an episode about the Philippines' countryside shapeshifter.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Designed to tackle one of the last frontiers of home robotics – efficient carpet care – the R2 uses advanced AI navigation to cover every corner of the home, promising to deliver a professional-grade clean with minimal human input.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Oct. 2025
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The official also said troops responded with heavy weaponry near Tirah in Khyber district and across the frontier in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.—
NPR,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On October 14, Kim Kardashian made a controversial splash in the undergarment and shapewear world with the announcement of SKIMS full-bush panties that resemble 17th century merkins and sell for $32 a pop.—
Quispe López,
Them.,
15 Oct. 2025
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The release of Skims’ new thong is uniquely coinciding with a wider conversation about female body hair happening in beauty now, as brands such as Billie double down on product partnerships with bush-positive messaging.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, a founder scaling across Europe must incorporate separate entities in each country, untangle regulatory and employment codes in multiple languages and markets, and explain to engineers in Munich why their stock options are treated differently to their colleagues’ in Madrid.—
Jan Hammer,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
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The History of Emily Montague was published in 1769, but the Canadian Confederation—the alliance of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia into an independent country separate from Great Britain—didn’t occur until 1867.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But in the post-Grand Slam hinterland, with many top players resting, there are always opportunities for players on the rise.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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But in 2007, Israeli intelligence serendipitously stumbled on evidence of a Syrian nuclear reactor—a miniature replica of North Korea’s Yongbyon facility—that was housed in a nondescript, aboveground complex in the hinterland near the Euphrates River.—
VIPIN NARANG,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While locations like a solar panel farm in the Australian outback fit the bill for near-future ground war, the result mostly feels sterile, amounting to a bunch of empty pathways bathed in stark daylight.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Oct. 2025
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The blood-pumping thriller starts with a man and his young son arriving at a rave in the Moroccan outback looking for their daughter/sister.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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