as in collapsed
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
my plan to throw her a surprise party backfired when she ended up thinking that everyone had forgotten her birthday
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Recent Examples of backfired
Jothan seemed agreeably nerdy—less astro-jazzman than small-town postal clerk—but his attempt at reassurance backfired.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Gang Green was severely lacking after the Fields’ signing backfired on them.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
When has being outspoken backfired for you in any way?
—Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2026
Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the GOP drive to redraw election maps had backfired.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The decision at the time to give the top job to Disney veteran Bob Chapek, best known for his stints in the company’s home entertainment, consumer products and theme park units, backfired after Chapek made a number of missteps.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
Tort law changes backfired In the months following the defeat of SB 726, State Farm came under widespread scrutiny for hundreds of cases of policyholders suing the insurance giant on bad faith grounds.
—J.c. Hallman, Oklahoman, 3 Feb. 2026
Greenberg said those attacks backfired.
—Nik Popli, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
In fact, that summit seemed initially to have backfired for Russia, with Trump growing increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s intransigence.
—Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Gang Green was severely lacking after the Fields’ signing backfired on them.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
When has being outspoken backfired for you in any way?
—Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2026
Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the GOP drive to redraw election maps had backfired.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The decision at the time to give the top job to Disney veteran Bob Chapek, best known for his stints in the company’s home entertainment, consumer products and theme park units, backfired after Chapek made a number of missteps.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
Tort law changes backfired In the months following the defeat of SB 726, State Farm came under widespread scrutiny for hundreds of cases of policyholders suing the insurance giant on bad faith grounds.
—J.c. Hallman, Oklahoman, 3 Feb. 2026
Greenberg said those attacks backfired.
—Nik Popli, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
In fact, that summit seemed initially to have backfired for Russia, with Trump growing increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s intransigence.
—Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backfired
Verb
-
The Bulls eventually collapsed in a 136-120 loss to the Nuggets before a sellout crowd of 20,939, but the start of the latest rebuild that can’t be called a rebuild was off to an interesting first step nonetheless.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Desperate social media posts from residents reached a fever pitch over the past week, with residents sharing photos of sheets of ice on exterior walls and a ceiling collapsed on cars in a garage.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Flies and roach poop caused a mall food court chain’s Kendall location to fail inspection last week, a week after its Hialeah location also flopped inspection.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The Chiefs flopped in free agency and didn’t act quickly enough in a draft that had running back depth.—
Sam McDowell
February 5,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The wild part is how quickly that creator theme boomeranged back at us in real time.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
16 Dec. 2025
-
The most blatant of those on Sunday was Kelce converting a great opportunity into a play that boomeranged the other way.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backfired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backfired. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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