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
-
The play will tell a story inspired by the program’s format, in which a group of faithfuls try to root out the traitors, and will be staged at an unnamed London venue.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2026
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Proceed with caution, faithful readers… The die is cast — the traitors and faithfuls have been chosen, and their clothes are doing the slaying (all puns intended).—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backstabbers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backstabbers. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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