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
-
Having been labeled traitors in Iran and following reports that some of their families had been threatened, the players then sang before their other two matches.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
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McCarthy’s rampage was about rooting out traitors.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backstabbers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backstabbers. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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