backwater

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.

Ms. Allen concedes their regionalism but argues that they were wiser for understanding that a “provincial backwater offers as full a panoply of human folly, nobility, tragedy, and absurdity as any great metropolis.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Her persona is part space alien, part naïf of some Baltic backwater.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

America’s transformation during the 19th century from an agrarian backwater into a global power was captained by men who engaged in maneuvers that would be completely illegal today but weren’t at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

Decades of investment in infrastructure and training have taken China from a sporting backwater to a medal-winning machine that recently equalled the United States with 40 golds at the Paris Olympics.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2025

The Nile Valley remained a cultural backwater for about 3,000 years after village food production began to flourish in the hills of the Fertile Crescent.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond