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backwater Definition

back·water (-wôt′ər)

noun

  1. water moved backward or held back by a dam, tide, etc.
  2. stagnant water in a small stream or inlet
  3. a place or condition regarded as stagnant, backward, etc. a cultural backwater

adjective

like a backwater; backward

backwater Usage Examples

Preposition: that

  • outsider: With books and backwaters that outsiders im still in.

Converse of object

  • explore: Explore undeveloped backwaters and sleepy villages off the beaten tourist track, and find a deserted beach you can have all to yourselves.
  • remain: During the occupation, the Island remained a rural backwater.
  • become: The evidence suggests that the EU is set to become an economic backwater.
  • consider: Until recently, Estonia was considered an economic backwater.
  • call: The message was not proclaimed in a palace nor even the Temple in Jerusalem - but in a backwater called Nazareth.

Adjective modifier

  • sleepy: However, don't be mistaken for thinking that it is a sleepy backwater - far from it.
  • tranquil: Nowadays it is a tranquil backwater offering fine views of the river.
  • provincial: The location is switched from a provincial backwater of Imperial Russia to a far-flung outpost of the British Empire, Trinidad.
  • quiet: The house, situated in a quiet backwater of the village, two hundred yards from the river Lot.
  • rural: Ireland was once a rural backwater on the edge of Europe.
  • peaceful: Nearly 170 years ago the normally peaceful backwater of South West Wales was rocked by a series of disturbances.

Preposition: on

  • edge: Ireland was once a rural backwater on the edge of Europe.

Modifies a noun

  • planet: I would be even more famous on Earth, where all policy is made, than in this backwater planet of Bruken.
  • town: This was at Nagano, north of Tokyo, a backwater town artfully developed by Tsutsumi Yoshiaki in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics.
  • trip: Popular Marco Island holiday excursions include island tours, offshore and backwater fishing trips and visits to the famous Everglades National Park.
  • fishing: Popular Marco Island holiday excursions include island tours, offshore and backwater fishing trips and visits to the famous Everglades National Park.

Preposition: of

  • river: Barnwell Country Park, on the outskirts of Oundle, sits in a peaceful backwater of the river Nene.

Noun used with modifier

  • river: Birds leave the slow moving river backwaters and streams and tend to move nearer to the coast for the winter.
  • country: In a quiet country backwater, something evil is afoot.