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
In the hockey world, the borough would go from backwater to mecca.
—
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 Feb. 2026
In 2002 Bisignano took charge at a Citi backwater called Global Transactions Services that was then losing $3 billion a year.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
The film takes place in a dreary town in Victoria, Australia, a drab industrial backwater whose people — or, at least some of whom — flock to religion to give their lives the brightness of hope and higher purpose.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
The Arctic is no longer a frozen backwater.
—Paul McCarthy, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 Feb. 2026
In 2002 Bisignano took charge at a Citi backwater called Global Transactions Services that was then losing $3 billion a year.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
The film takes place in a dreary town in Victoria, Australia, a drab industrial backwater whose people — or, at least some of whom — flock to religion to give their lives the brightness of hope and higher purpose.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
The Arctic is no longer a frozen backwater.
—Paul McCarthy, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
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Some were draped in ivy, others adorned with pink blossoms, but none are forgotten by nature’s touch—each brought to life by the intricate details that transport you into a postcard of the Italian countryside.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, niche perfume brand Maison Louis Marie offers several scent options, including Bois de Balincourt (an intoxicating woody scent), inspired by the founder’s ancestral French countryside home.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Internet trailblazer Yahoo is exploring technology’s next frontier with Scout, an answer engine powered by artificial intelligence.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The United States will be in a far stronger position to win the artificial intelligence race if government works with, rather than against, the companies pioneering frontier technology.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Longtime fans may recall that on Thanksgiving Night 2009, Woods’ Cadillac Escalade collided with a fire hydrant, tree and several bushes near his Central Florida home, and he was ticketed with careless driving.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Calling a tall bush a tree does not make it so.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That decade started with the 1973 oil embargo by Arab countries who were members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and ended with the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which many attribute to helping end Jimmy Carter's presidency.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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And both reckon with the extent to which historical ignorance and the calculated distortion of the past threaten the foundation on which our country was built.—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
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Scattered across the continent were hundreds of towns populated by a few hundred people, and each of these towns had an economic hinterland of perhaps 50 to 100 square miles, with the bulk of all agricultural and household production produced and remaining in that area.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Both Benna and Einhorn were used to André pitching outrageous concepts in conversation over the years, whether in regard to a new client or a road trip involving some remote outback and hallucinogens.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2026
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Black lives don’t matter in Warwick Thornton’s fiercely original outback Western Wolfram, a surprisingly emotional genre piece that simmers with menace and doesn’t let up until the bloody finale.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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