as in double
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
"I'm amazed you did so well" is a bit of a backhanded compliment
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Recent Examples of backhanded
This biting insult about nails Cristal is queen of the backhanded compliment.
—
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Still, Pet Sematary is surprisingly, enjoyably watchable, which is a bit of a backhanded compliment for an adaptation of something so dark.
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
But, in a way, even this backlash is a backhanded recognition of the moment; the Administration, and its supporters in the fossil-fuel industry, clearly consider this the last possible moment to stifle the sun.
—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9 July 2025
After his wife, Hailey Bieber, appeared looking happy, healthy, and gorgeous on the cover of the June 2025 issue of Vogue, Justin Bieber took to Instagram to congratulate the model on the achievement in a sort of a backhanded way.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhanded
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Still, Pet Sematary is surprisingly, enjoyably watchable, which is a bit of a backhanded compliment for an adaptation of something so dark.
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
But, in a way, even this backlash is a backhanded recognition of the moment; the Administration, and its supporters in the fossil-fuel industry, clearly consider this the last possible moment to stifle the sun.
—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9 July 2025
After his wife, Hailey Bieber, appeared looking happy, healthy, and gorgeous on the cover of the June 2025 issue of Vogue, Justin Bieber took to Instagram to congratulate the model on the achievement in a sort of a backhanded way.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhanded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backhanded
Adjective
-
In another twist late Saturday night, the Canadian women's team was accused by match officials of the same double-touch violation, this time by veteran skip Rachel Homan in the first end against Switzerland.—
STEVE DOUGLAS,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
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The home crowd favorite is coming back from tearing her ACL and suffering a double leg break in April of last year, only returning to competition last month ahead of the Olympics.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The agency allegedly used Bank of America accounts to lure young women with fake modeling offers, while financial records suggest the bank was aware of these suspicious connections, according to plaintiff’s claims.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Some guests got very into it—one adopted a fake British accent for the duration.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tatianna points to cinnamon as a conductor of heat—one commonly used in lip plumper products to achieve a sultry pout.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Nov. 2025
-
The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.—
Calin Van Paris,
Vogue,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Judges could reason the NCAA interpreting rules to allow pros from some leagues, but not others, is hypocritical and arbitrary.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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And if you’re inspired to take some meaningful, not at all hypocritical action against book bans, there are plenty of ways to get plugged in with Authors Against Book Bans.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Which is not to say that Amodei is being insincere.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
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Then again, Friday’s show was a reminder that much of Rascal Flatts’ output can get overly glossy and insincere, so maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Gregg Phillips, an associate administrator at FEMA, said at a hearing this week that its disaster relief fund has sufficient balances to continue emergency response activities during a shutdown, but would become seriously strained in the event of a catastrophic disaster.—
Mary Clare Jalonick,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The same can be said of Schneeberger and Neibaur’s volume, a read that, like its subject, exhibits a breezy superficial charm before giving way to genuine depth and multiple rewards.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
10 Feb. 2026
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But Sonnet 130 may very well be the most popular for its testament to genuine love as opposed to superficial infatuation.—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The stakes are not equal; her dream of a future could be a meaningless flirtation to him.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
16 Feb. 2026
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Laws protecting election integrity are meaningless if they are not enforced.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backhanded. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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