as in traitors
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
a backstabber taking credit for work she didn't do while bad-mouthing the rest of the team to the boss
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Recent Examples of backstabbers
There were no suggestions that good family friends were liars or backstabbers, no angry exchanges between a man’s wife and the same man’s sister.
—
Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Prayer mats lie next to heavy artillery; smoke billows from parked whips; backstabbers get cut first.
—Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2025
Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Prayer mats lie next to heavy artillery; smoke billows from parked whips; backstabbers get cut first.
—Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backstabbers
traitors
Noun
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But that does not mean that those Maryland families with pre-war Confederate roots were, or are, traitors.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
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Underwood not only survived several murders but takes pride in having a hand in eliminating three out of the four original traitors, including Donna Kelce, Lisa Rinna and Dillard Bassett.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backstabbers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backstabbers. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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