backslide

[ bak-slahyd ]
See synonyms for: backslidebackslidingbackslider on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),back·slid, back·slid or back·slid·den, back·slid·ing.
  1. to relapse into bad habits, sinful behavior, or undesirable activities.

noun
  1. an act or instance of backsliding: a backslide from his early training.

Origin of backslide

1
First recorded in 1575–85; back2 + slide

Other words from backslide

  • backslider, noun

Words Nearby backslide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use backslide in a sentence

  • But one must go forward before one can backslide, and Kedzie was on the way up the slippery hill.

    We Can't Have Everything | Rupert Hughes
  • Many of Balzac's women repent, and many of those that repent either backslide or come very near to it.

    Balzac | Frederick Lawton

British Dictionary definitions for backslide

backslide

/ (ˈbækˌslaɪd) /


verb-slides, -sliding, -slid, -slid or -slidden
  1. (intr) to lapse into bad habits or vices from a state of virtue, religious faith, etc

Derived forms of backslide

  • backslider, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012