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
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of backwater
Saturated in the heatwave colors of Australia’s scorching Red Center, with its searing blue skies and bright orange sands, Wolfram makes the grim, lawless backwater of Wake in Fright seem positively cosmopolitan by comparison.
—
Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
In the hockey world, the borough would go from backwater to mecca.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 Feb. 2026
In 2002 Bisignano took charge at a Citi backwater called Global Transactions Services that was then losing $3 billion a year.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
The film takes place in a dreary town in Victoria, Australia, a drab industrial backwater whose people — or, at least some of whom — flock to religion to give their lives the brightness of hope and higher purpose.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
In the hockey world, the borough would go from backwater to mecca.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 Feb. 2026
In 2002 Bisignano took charge at a Citi backwater called Global Transactions Services that was then losing $3 billion a year.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
The film takes place in a dreary town in Victoria, Australia, a drab industrial backwater whose people — or, at least some of whom — flock to religion to give their lives the brightness of hope and higher purpose.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
-
Dayao and his pregnant wife, Tiantian, live in the countryside but work themselves to the bone in the city.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
-
But villas aren’t limited to just the European countryside (though, obviously, there’s no shortage of incredible options).—
Angela Tafoya,
Vogue,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
When Rue meets one of Laurie’s customers, Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a strip-club mogul fond of cowboy hats and the American frontier as an organizing metaphor, the everything-is-for-sale theme is amplified further.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Moonshot from the last frontier.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Smaller bush-type, or determinate, tomatoes can survive without support, but staking can help in the long run.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Berta Lepe, one of Greenhaven's caregivers, found Hernandez under a bush, wearing only a shirt and underwear.—
Jordan Rau,
NPR,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Canadian police say Law is suspected of sending at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
But neither Iran nor countries acting as intermediaries in the conflict have said Tehran has made such an agreement.—
Melanie Lidman,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Scattered across the continent were hundreds of towns populated by a few hundred people, and each of these towns had an economic hinterland of perhaps 50 to 100 square miles, with the bulk of all agricultural and household production produced and remaining in that area.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Both Benna and Einhorn were used to André pitching outrageous concepts in conversation over the years, whether in regard to a new client or a road trip involving some remote outback and hallucinogens.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Black lives don’t matter in Warwick Thornton’s fiercely original outback Western Wolfram, a surprisingly emotional genre piece that simmers with menace and doesn’t let up until the bloody finale.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
