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.
Once viewed as an intellectual backwater, geroscience—the study of aging—is now at the frontier of biology, attracting funding and talent, inspiring new journals, and generating a flood of peer-reviewed research.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 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
Western adventurers have been turning up in Bali since the early 20th Century, when it was seen as an exotic backwater, home to Hindu temples and rice fields.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025
Olympics, but Southern California — which did not have a Russian Consulate — was considered a backwater in the Cold War spy game.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 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
Vocabulary lists containing backwater
Red Kayak
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This Week In Culture: October 19–25, 2019
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
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