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
Gold transformed Victoria from a pastoral backwater into the most celebrated colony of the empire.
—
Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
At that time, in the 1920s, France was really a backwater in theoretical physics.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 16 Mar. 2026
But Dublin was a European backwater then.
—Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026
Saturated in the heatwave colors of Australia’s scorching Red Center, with its searing blue skies and bright orange sands, Wolfram makes the grim, lawless backwater of Wake in Fright seem positively cosmopolitan by comparison.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
At that time, in the 1920s, France was really a backwater in theoretical physics.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 16 Mar. 2026
But Dublin was a European backwater then.
—Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026
Saturated in the heatwave colors of Australia’s scorching Red Center, with its searing blue skies and bright orange sands, Wolfram makes the grim, lawless backwater of Wake in Fright seem positively cosmopolitan by comparison.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
-
Learn how to make real Italian food, by a real Italian chef, in the Italian countryside.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
-
For her part, Gianina is just trying to stow away enough earnings to support her daughter, Maria (Sofia Dragoman), who lives with her grandmother (Liliana Ghita) in a grimly anonymous village in the countryside, and to save for an anticipated Christmas reunion in Romania.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
The resulting Carretera Austral (Southern Highway in English) bound together that distant frontier to the Chilean state by force of gravel, dynamite, and military will.—
Mark Johanson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 June 2026
-
Settlers streamed into the American frontier.—
Michael Luo,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
Noun
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There’s a mahogany bar overlooking the open bush, outdoor canvas baths and a sense of old-world glamour that feels like it might have been lifted straight from a Hollywood movie.—
Sarah Kingdom,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
Friday by university staff in some bushes inside of the West Circle near Oxford Street.—
Harry Harris,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The first World Cup match on American soil in more than a generation and the start of a tournament that has the potential to alter the direction of soccer in this country for the next generation.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
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Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images Switzerland, a wealthy country that has historically embraced free movement and foreign investment, is about to vote on whether to cap its population — and restrict immigration measures to do so.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
The menu is top-tier and uses as much local produce from the ocean and nearby hinterland as possible.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
The film eliminated even a gesture toward a plot while showing solitary nonprofessional and real-life ranch-hand Misael Saavedra chopping and hauling logs in the Argentinian hinterlands (in actuality, Alonso’s family’s ranch).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
Once the work is complete, the capsule reenters the atmosphere at some 18,000 miles per hour, parachuting down with a bump in the Australian outback.—
Ramin Skibba,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
-
The Deb dispute is playing out across different fronts in Los Angeles and Australia, overshadowing the feel-good movie about outback teens attending a debutante ball.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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