backslide
To regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse stateTo regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse state.
» These people will make us backslide.
AmarMecheri · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive)To regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse state.
He felt better for a little while, before his condition started to backslide.
rückläufig werden
(transitive)To shirk responsibility; to renege on one's obligations or commitments.
To revert back into a life of sin after being saved.
- drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
Examples
4 sentencesThese people will make us backslide.
We've come this far, so we can't stop now. I don't want to backslide.
The backsliding has begun.
Lawmakers from elsewhere in the nation have also criticized the proposed move, saying it represents a backsliding of democratic progress.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From back + slide.From back + slide.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
backslides, backsliding, backslid, backslidden| Base form | backslide · to backslide |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | backslides |
| Present participle | backsliding |
| Past simple | backslid / backslided |
| Past participle | backslidden / backslid / backslided |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
2 synonyms- drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards:lapse
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.