backhanded compliment
noun
: a compliment that implies it is not really a compliment at all
She paid me a backhanded compliment when she said my work was "surprisingly good."
Examples of backhanded compliment in a Sentence
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McKellen lands every snippy bon mot and backhanded compliment that Julian doles out, but Coel makes every crack in Lori’s facade really count, as the mystery behind her commitment to Julian unfurls.
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David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
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David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backhanded compliment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backhanded%20compliment. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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