backsliding 1 of 2

adjective

as in unfaithful

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backsliding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of backslide
as in relapsing

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backsliding
  1. unfaithful
  2. relapsing
  3. secular
  4. lapsing
  5. sinful
  6. regressing
  7. worldly
  8. reverting
Adjective
  • When the braids had five or more strands, however, the disk possibilities proliferated, guaranteeing the matrices were all unfaithful.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 24 July 2026
  • After so many years as the good guy, Klein is leaning into his dark side, taking on roles like the big bad Cicada on CW’s The Flash, and as JoAnna Garcia Swisher’s unfaithful ex-husband on the Netflix series Sweet Magnolias.
    — Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026
Definition of unfaithful
Verb
  • If untreated, the CDC says, the illness can last for over a month with relapsing symptoms.
    — Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Oprah Winfrey said that Whitney Houston fell off her talk show stage after relapsing on drugs.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 23 June 2026
Definition of relapsing
Adjective
  • These and other initiatives are focusing on secular Jews and adherents to Reform Judaism.
    — Giovanna Dell'Orto, Fortune, 31 July 2026
  • Those protests insisting on secular citizenship were led by Muslim community organizations and students and supported by secular Indians.
    — Yamini Aiyar, Time, 29 July 2026
Definition of secular
Verb
  • But with La Liga’s champions now signing fellow England wide man Anthony Gordon from Newcastle, and Rashford’s £40million release clause for other teams lapsing last week, a new set of negotiations will be required for his exit.
    — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • The White House referred questions about the executive order lapsing to the Treasury Department.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
Definition of lapsing
Adjective
  • My prescribed low-carb, caffeine-free diet sounded horrifying on paper, but my sinful pleasures were replaced with a tasty, high-quality, and healthy alternative that left me more energized.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
  • Critics also have challenged the report’s characterization of cases involving women, contending these were consensual affairs that were sinful but not abusive.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 June 2026
Definition of sinful
Verb
  • The cumulative effect of regressing academically every summer means kids are starting off every school year in a deficit, as previously mentioned.
    — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 7 July 2026
  • But as Saturday’s play showed, things have a way of evening out, regressing to the mean.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 27 June 2026
Definition of regressing
Adjective
  • These poems used images from ordinary life to warn against greed, religious hypocrisy and an excessive attachment to worldly possessions.
    — Peter Dziedzic, The Conversation, 30 July 2026
  • These complex relationships—between art and institutions, between artistic integrity and worldly achievement—animate Eggers’s latest novel, Contrapposto.
    — Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
Definition of worldly
Verb
  • The company’s chief software officer Wassym Bensaid said the halo wheels move driver functionality forward, rather than reverting back to buttons.
    — Greg Migliore, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Amid the energy crisis in the early 1970s, daylight saving time was shifted earlier, to January and February, before later reverting back to the last Sunday in April, per the Council of State Governments.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Definition of reverting
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.

Browse Nearby Words

backslides
backsliding
backs off
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Cite this Entry

“Backsliding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backsliding. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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