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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Recent Examples of backwater
China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future
by Ian Johnson
Sigrid Nunez
A Hero for Cro-MAGA Times
Charles Baxter’s new novel follows the moral travails of a rock-steady insurance salesman in a dystopian Ohio backwater.
—
James Gleick, The New York Review of Books, 7 Feb. 2025
Chaotic warrens in rundown backwaters, such as the desolate apartment complex where Beibei’s grandmother used to live, suggest neglect that’s far from benign.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
Why are the Ukrainians risking lives and resources on a comparatively meaningless action in a sector that’s a relative backwater, when critical Ukrainian strongpoints in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast are under relentless Russian assault?
—David Axe, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Several companies have tested their autonomous vehicles in Japan, but the country is a bit of a backwater compared to China and the US.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for backwater
James Gleick, The New York Review of Books, 7 Feb. 2025
Chaotic warrens in rundown backwaters, such as the desolate apartment complex where Beibei’s grandmother used to live, suggest neglect that’s far from benign.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
Why are the Ukrainians risking lives and resources on a comparatively meaningless action in a sector that’s a relative backwater, when critical Ukrainian strongpoints in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast are under relentless Russian assault?
—David Axe, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Several companies have tested their autonomous vehicles in Japan, but the country is a bit of a backwater compared to China and the US.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for backwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backwater
Noun
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The Texas Department of Transportation is spending $540 million to widen and revamp stretches of I-20 and I-30 linking Fort Worth and Weatherford — a yearslong project that promises eased traffic, if not the preservation of remaining countryside.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Apr. 2025
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The surrounding area is great for biking, hiking, and anyone else who needs a dose of medicine in the form of expansive countryside.—
Tim Nelson,
Architectural Digest,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The push for menstrual leave may represent the next frontier in recognizing the full spectrum of women's health needs in the workplace.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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Artificial Integrity is the new frontier to make AI agents integrity-led with regard to context-aware decision-making, including social, ethical, and moral reasoning, and therefore, the ability to adapt dynamically across diverse decision-making frameworks.—
Hamilton Mann,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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By Lila Seidman Staff Writer Follow April 5, 2025 3 AM PT Poodle-dog bush, a pretty but dangerous plant, is growing in parts of the Angeles National Forest hit by recent wildfires.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2025
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The geckos come out at night – so the team also goes trekking in the dark with flashlights to look for geckos perched on leaves and bushes.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But past Democratic and Republican presidents have used their parole authorities to allow people from countries in turmoil to come to the United States, including Soviet and Vietnamese citizens.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
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This was Brontë country—a landscape of bleak moors, steep valleys, and small towns nestled in the hollows.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Each has its own habitués, its own charm, its own scene: Giglio Island; the Monte Argentario peninsula; and a long stretch of beach, dune, and rural hinterland that centers on a cute hill town called Capalbio.—
Lee Marshall,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Apr. 2025
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But air power alone rarely wins wars, and the Houthis have the advantage of a remote, mountainous hinterland where much of their arsenal is probably safe from harm.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Finding escaped marsupials in the vast Australian outback may sound much harder than finding a needle in a haystack.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2025
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Specifically, scientists mentioned the Sturt Stony Desert, an outback desert in South Australia, as a potential place to look.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backwater. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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