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.

Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.

From MarketWatch

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

They may also chip away at your mood slowly, through backhanded compliments or pressuring you to be upbeat, where they don't allow you to express how you are really feeling.

From BBC

Between the actors' silent conversations and the nuances of envy and backhanded slights White conveys through dialogue, these friends brutally play out the intimacy gap that can doom vintage friendships.

From Salon

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