as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
a distant backwater that didn't even have electricity at that time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of backwater
His fiction is set all over the place—genteel backwaters like Miami, Hollywood, and Atlantic City, with excursions as far afield as the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Israel.
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
At this flood stage, expect significant flooding in East End, California, and New Richmond in Ohio, with backwater floods in Silver Grove, KY, and riverfront buildings in Aurora, Indiana.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Apr. 2025
Having set up this backwater office where nothing ever happens and then bring death to the door was a brilliant stroke.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 17 June 2025
In 2001, Michael Dorrell volunteered to move from the Sydney headquarters of Australian investment bank Macquarie to a backwater in its infrastructure investing specialty: the United States of America.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
At this flood stage, expect significant flooding in East End, California, and New Richmond in Ohio, with backwater floods in Silver Grove, KY, and riverfront buildings in Aurora, Indiana.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Apr. 2025
Having set up this backwater office where nothing ever happens and then bring death to the door was a brilliant stroke.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 17 June 2025
In 2001, Michael Dorrell volunteered to move from the Sydney headquarters of Australian investment bank Macquarie to a backwater in its infrastructure investing specialty: the United States of America.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
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Summers in the countryside with him and my grandmother were full of the kinds of adventures usually reserved for boys.—
Tamar Gakharia,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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After surviving a violent car crash that kills her boyfriend, Laura is immediately taken in by Betty (Barbara Auer), a mysterious middle-aged woman who lives alone in an isolated house in the countryside.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But control over the user interface, the relationship, the rail – that’s the next frontier.—
Kjartan Rist,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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The frontier is increasingly competitive and increasingly crowded.—
Fortune Editors,
Fortune,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This has nothing to do with aesthetics—clearing out things like branches and bushes helps prevent any blockages or overcrowding.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
2 Aug. 2025
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Alcazar drove after the teen, going onto the sidewalk near Harbor and La Habra Boulevard to strike him, breaking his leg and pinning him into some bushes while two of her sons got out of the SUV and repeatedly punched the defenseless victim, authorities said.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The program will be attended by 63 up-and-coming film professionals, drawn from 17 countries.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
2 Aug. 2025
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President Trump signed a proclamation in June to ban or partly ban citizens from 19 countries including Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela from entering the U.S. for national security concerns.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
2 Aug. 2025
Noun
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One is that working class people from the American hinterlands simply lack the time, resources, and networks to gamble on a vocation with so little security.—
Lee Cole
June 17,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2025
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On the opposite shore of the lake, the Venetian denomination Bardolino DOC extends on the morainic hills of the hinterland.—
Elisabetta Tosi,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Carolina Wilga, a German backpacker, was found alive after spending 12 days missing in the remote outback of Western Australia, according to local authorities.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 July 2025
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This mismatch in the data between the different antennas caused the blur, so to remove it, the researchers eliminated the signal coming from the outer antennas to favor only the inner part of the telescope, which is spread out over about 2.3 square miles in the Australian outback.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
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