backslide

English

Etymology

Verb

backslide (third-person singular simple present backslides, present participle backsliding, simple past backslid or backslided, past participle backslidden or backslid or backslided)

To regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse state.
- 1893, George Eliot, George Eliot's Works - Volume 7 - Page 233
  Monna Brigida, who had backslided into false hair in Romola's absence, but now drew it off again and declared she would not mind being gray, if her dear child would stay with her.
He felt better for a little while, before his condition started to backslide.
To shirk responsibility; to renege on one's obligations or commitments.
Rich countries are backsliding on their commitment to agree to new WTO measures to help people in poor countries gain access to affordable medicines. — Oxfam press release, 24 June 2002

Derived terms

backslider
backsliding (adjective, noun)

Translations

to revert to a previous, worse state

Chinese:
Mandarin: 開倒車 (zh)

Portuguese: regredir, regressar (pt), retroceder (pt), decair (pt)

to renege on one's obligations or commitments

Portuguese: apostatar

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Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} hrasa, ^{(please verify)} lenda aftur í slysi, ^{(please verify)} lenda aftur í synd, ^{(please verify)} lenda aftur í villu

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Noun

backslide (plural backslides)

A backward regression; a reverting back to a worse state.
A dance move in which the feet are alternately slid back and the heels lifted, giving the illusion of walking forwards while actually moving backwards; later popularly called the moonwalk.

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