as in treachery
the act or fact of violating the trust or confidence of another
a reality TV show that seems to have raised backstabbing to an art form
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in betraying
to be unfaithful or disloyal to
knew what it felt like to be backstabbed by a so-called friend
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of backstabbing
Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026
But the hardest part of the novel wasn’t scripting the scheming, backstabbing, or duplicitous behavior.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Play Now Toni’s blasé egotism is mostly consistent across a film filled with conspiracy, backstabbing, and political fallout.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The backstabbing gives the show its spiky, durable spine—but its belief in individual people’s potential, its love of adventure, its obsession with redemption, reclamation, and rebirth?
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backstabbing
Noun
This 2000s teen drama delivers relationship drama, backstabbing, layered characters, and an ominous anonymous blogger chronicling all of it.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026
But the hardest part of the novel wasn’t scripting the scheming, backstabbing, or duplicitous behavior.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Play Now Toni’s blasé egotism is mostly consistent across a film filled with conspiracy, backstabbing, and political fallout.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
The backstabbing gives the show its spiky, durable spine—but its belief in individual people’s potential, its love of adventure, its obsession with redemption, reclamation, and rebirth?
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backstabbing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backstabbing
Noun
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Undocumented immigrants venture from Mexico, often underestimating of the treachery of the landscape.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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Jonathan Cute kept probing the murky realms between tourism and treachery.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To be fair, Titus betraying his sister does ultimately lead to his downfall, even if Ursula isn’t around to see it.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
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Stories of families who changed continents, leaving one life and opening another, without betraying their identity.—
Nicola Bambini,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Mamdani received intense backlash over the appeal from advocacy groups, who branded the flip-flop a betrayal.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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As the consequences of that initial act spread through the household, the story develops through status, bloodline and resentment, building into a period drama centered on betrayal, ambition and the struggle for position within the family.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backstabbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backstabbing. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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