as in reaction
a strong public response against something
There was swift backlash to the senator's controversial comments.
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Recent Examples of backlash
Hawley criticized Mark Zuckerberg for declining a personal invitation to attend the hearing or even send a Meta representative after scandals like backlash over Meta relaxing rules that allowed chatbots to be creepy to kids.
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Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
The backlash comes after Townsend was involved in a heated exchange with Jelena Ostapenko during the US Open last month.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Her comments sparked a backlash from across the political spectrum, since even hate speech is generally considered to be protected under the First Amendment.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
John Mcdonnell | Getty Images Kimmel is the latest media figure to feel backlash for public comments about Kirk’s assassination.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backlash
Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
The backlash comes after Townsend was involved in a heated exchange with Jelena Ostapenko during the US Open last month.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Her comments sparked a backlash from across the political spectrum, since even hate speech is generally considered to be protected under the First Amendment.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
John Mcdonnell | Getty Images Kimmel is the latest media figure to feel backlash for public comments about Kirk’s assassination.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backlash
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backlash
reaction
Noun
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During the prelims in Tokyo, Seville had a concerning slow reaction to the starting gun.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Don't mix the two together, as the reaction can make a mess and cause the two cleaners to cancel each other out.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backlash.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backlash. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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