backbite

C2+ Topic:Communication

US /ˈbækbaɪt/ UK /ˈbækbaɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to speak maliciously about someone who is absent

She refused to backbite even when others spread rumours.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to speak maliciously about... slander defame malign disparage vilify traduce

Opposites

praise compliment

Word family

Derived forms backbiterbackbiting

Related forms back bite

Etymology

From Middle English bakbiten, from back + bite, the image being of biting someone behind their back.

bæc Old English bītan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication

# backbite

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈbækbaɪt
**IPA (UK):** ˈbækbaɪt

## Meanings
1. to speak maliciously about someone who is absent

## Examples
- She refused to backbite even when others spread rumours.

## Synonyms
- slander
- defame
- malign
- disparage
- vilify
- traduce

## Antonyms
- praise
- compliment

## Derived Forms
- backbiter
- backbiting

## Related Forms
- back
- bite

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bæc
- Root: bītan

## Etymology
From Middle English bakbiten, from back + bite, the image being of biting someone behind their back.

## AI Etymology
Backbite is from Middle English bakbiten, from back + bite, the image being of biting someone behind their back. Important recorded forms include bæc (Old English) and bītan (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to speak maliciously about someone who is absent. The wider family includes derived forms such as backbiter and backbiting and related words such as back and bite.

## Topics
- Communication

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backbite

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