backhanded
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That No 10 feels the need to criticise the Greens is a backhanded compliment that shows they matter.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 27, 2025
In a 1919 review of a pair of books by Theodore Dreiser, Virginia Woolf issued some exquisitely backhanded praise for the Indiana-born author, whose writing, she thought, stood out for its roughness and vitality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
In past seasons, that description might have landed as a backhanded compliment — a “nice try” in the wake of some form-breaking comedy’s ascension as a critical darling.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2025
This outwardly aloof but blatantly defensive tone seemed to acknowledge, in its backhanded way, that his critics had struck a nerve.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
