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

By 2001 the paper profits pushed Ireland’s gross domestic product per capita ahead of Britain’s, fed a housing boom, and turned Dublin from a dirty backwater into a glossy tourist hub.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 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

Im scraped together low-value land in a backwater known for its seedy motels and opened the theme park — a decision his friends disparaged.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2024

She snorts and says that it’s out of the kindness of her heart that she lives in this backwater town and helps these country people and that one day she’ll reap her just reward.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau