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
Watts says you may already be attached once you notice the signs—they start a fight after a big event in the partner’s life, give backhanded compliments, monopolize the conversation—but it’s not worth sticking around.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 27, 2025
Classics YouTube channel, though these are mostly — maybe entirely — extracted highlights rather than full cartoons, which is its own kind of backhanded insult.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2025
He offers a kind of backhanded compliment: There’s a “snob factor” at Truman’s neighboring high schools that does not exist here.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.