BACKSLIDING Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

backsliding 1 of 2

adjective

as in unfaithful

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

backsliding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of backslide

as in relapsing

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backsliding

Adjective

In other words, some hallucinated or unfaithful answers originate before generation.

— Patrick Dajos, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Patrick testified and found himself at the center of an online swarm of sleuths and influencers dissecting every detail of the case, developing theories that portray him as uncaring, unfaithful and even the murderer of his children.

— Ross Douthat, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of unfaithful

Adjective

France, a secular nation where the separation of church and state is enshrined in a 1905 law, has witnessed a steady decline in affiliation to the Catholic Church during the post-war era.

— Joshua McElwee, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
But statistics and experts caution that the uptick, which has also been recorded in secular Spain, doesn’t counteract the overall downward trend.

— Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 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

Judaism teaches that human beings are not inherently sinful, destructive or a detriment to the world.

— Meir Moscowitz, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026
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

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

The pair have just been evicted from their apartment, coming home from church to find all of their worldly possessions on the stairs.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
For another geological lure, Kolymbithres Beach in Paros features giant white granite rocks sculpted by the sea into other-worldly formations.

— Jennifer Tzeses, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of worldly

Verb

The exact process for reverting adult cells back to an early embryonic stage, however, wasn’t clear.

— Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
The decision paused the law until Missouri voters either approve or reject it in November, reverting the map to what was used in the 2022 and 2024 elections.

— Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 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

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Backsliding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backsliding. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of backsliding

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

epistemic

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes