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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Men’s Pre-Collection Louis Vuitton unveils its Spring/Summer 2026 Men’s Pre-Collection, inspired by the charm of the English countryside.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 June 2025
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The final leg of the tour wraps up the experience in Burgundy, France, the European home of Butterfield & Robinson, for wine tastings in local vineyards, scenic rides through the countryside, and stays at luxury chateaux.—
Katie Nadworny,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Now, the next frontier is here: multi-agent systems that operate across entire business functions.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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But here the focus is on a Black family grappling both with the burdens and privileges of a father’s unique legacy and the difficulty of adapting to changing times and new frontiers of political struggle.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2025
Noun
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Then in September, a Secret Service agent spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club while scouting the course ahead of Trump.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 June 2025
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Fire officials said it was reported that the child was caught by an adult and landed in a bush, which helped break the fall.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 May 2025
Noun
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My country, Nigeria, was long caught in the throes of statism—and crisis after crisis followed.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
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The two countries did agree on exchanging bodies of soldiers killed in action.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
3 June 2025
Noun
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Whole armies could be hidden, fleets of warships could vanish on the high seas, and even whole cities could be built in the hinterland and kept secret.—
David Szondy
May 31,
New Atlas,
31 May 2025
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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
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 10 Jun. 2025.
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