as in countryside
usually backlands plural
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
they purposely vacationed in the backlands to get away from people
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 backland
But more migrants, moving farther into remote backlands to elude the Border Patrol, have died in scorching desert heat, a shameful indicator that enforcement is having an effect in many places.
—
Julia Preston,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Oct. 2024
His protagonist, living in direst poverty in Brazil’s arid backlands, decides to migrate to the wealthier coast.
—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
1 Dec. 2019
Born in the arid backlands of Brazil’s north-east, Mr Gilberto arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 as a singer in one of the then-fashionable vocal ensembles.
—
The Economist,
11 July 2019
Tucked in the emerald backlands of Fayetteville, Georgia, inside a cavernous soundstage at Pinewood Studios, Mara Brock-Akil is in full field marshall mode.
—
Jason Parham,
WIRED,
19 June 2018
Patrícia Santos da Silva, 24, and her family live in the city of Santana do Ipanema, in the western backlands of Alagoas.
—
Sandee Lamotte,
CNN,
1 Nov. 2017
Some escaped and formed clandestine communities in the backlands of the rainforest, independent villages known as quilombos.
—
Smithsonian,
21 Sep. 2017
Julia Preston,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Oct. 2024
His protagonist, living in direst poverty in Brazil’s arid backlands, decides to migrate to the wealthier coast.
—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
1 Dec. 2019
Born in the arid backlands of Brazil’s north-east, Mr Gilberto arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 as a singer in one of the then-fashionable vocal ensembles.
—
The Economist,
11 July 2019
Tucked in the emerald backlands of Fayetteville, Georgia, inside a cavernous soundstage at Pinewood Studios, Mara Brock-Akil is in full field marshall mode.
—
Jason Parham,
WIRED,
19 June 2018
Patrícia Santos da Silva, 24, and her family live in the city of Santana do Ipanema, in the western backlands of Alagoas.
—
Sandee Lamotte,
CNN,
1 Nov. 2017
Some escaped and formed clandestine communities in the backlands of the rainforest, independent villages known as quilombos.
—
Smithsonian,
21 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backland
Noun
-
The crowd behind the cause Ordinary men and women in colonial cities and the countryside are behind the screen of the declaration’s list of charges too.
-
In the film’s ferocious climax, Jim is shot but escapes with Selena and Hannah, and the story closes (28 days later) back in the countryside as a jet flies over and augurs their rescue.
Noun
-
The ceremony took place near the town of La Hormiga which is surrounded by vast fields of coca bushes, the raw material for cocaine that the Border Commandos export.
-
This has nothing to do with aesthetics—clearing out things like branches and bushes helps prevent any blockages or overcrowding.
Noun
-
The menu is top-tier and uses as much local produce from the ocean and nearby hinterland as possible.
-
The film eliminated even a gesture toward a plot while showing solitary nonprofessional and real-life ranch-hand Misael Saavedra chopping and hauling logs in the Argentinian hinterlands (in actuality, Alonso’s family’s ranch).
Noun
-
The movie goes from this weird, seedy love motel to the industrial backwaters, and these long walks and talks down empty streets.
-
Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.
Noun
-
The treaty involves regular onsite inspections by the IAEA to confirm that countries are complying with the treaty’s terms.
-
Beijing broadly denies providing weapons to countries in conflict.
Noun
-
Observe black cockatoos preen in the drooping she-oaks, or marvel at the Dali-esque outback, filled with its skeletal mallee trees.
-
Once the work is complete, the capsule reenters the atmosphere at some 18,000 miles per hour, parachuting down with a bump in the Australian outback.
Noun
-
Extropic has already begun shipping an early version of its thermodynamic computing platform to select partners, including frontier AI labs.
-
The Border Commandos, who control villages and smuggle cocaine along parts of Colombia's frontier with Ecuador, number about 1,000 fighters, thus only 10% of the group actually turned in weapons.
Cite this Entry
“Backland.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backland. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
