backbite C2+ Topic:Communication US /ˈbækbaɪt/ UK /ˈbækbaɪt/ See IPA manual 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... slanderdefamemaligndisparagevilifytraduce ↔ Opposites praisecompliment Word family Derived forms backbiterbackbiting Related forms backbite Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown