as in collapsed
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
my plan to throw her a surprise party backfired when she ended up thinking that everyone had forgotten her birthday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of backfired
Cut to today and the previous White House’s rationale has backfired.
—
Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
Jones' gambit might have backfired, however, and bad blood within the state legislature could hamper his candidacy.
—CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
But the measure backfired when municipalities’ collection sites were overwhelmed, leading to stockpiles of unused textiles, and the government reversed part of the rule in October.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
The tactic appears to have backfired, however, after Democrats successfully undertook the same strategy in California and later Virginia, which, along with Utah, have adopted new maps giving them 10 additional seats.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
That strategy backfired — as did Boston’s reliance on drop coverage — as the 76ers rookie became the youngest player in NBA history to drop 30 points with 10 rebounds in a playoff game.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
Both manoeuvres backfired against Liverpool at the Amex Stadium in March.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
In New York, efforts by billionaires to defeat a democratic socialist mayoral candidate backfired spectacularly.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026
Just don't try anything like these pranks from companies that backfired in spectacular ways.
—Joe Mutascio, IndyStar, 1 Apr. 2026
Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
Jones' gambit might have backfired, however, and bad blood within the state legislature could hamper his candidacy.
—CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
But the measure backfired when municipalities’ collection sites were overwhelmed, leading to stockpiles of unused textiles, and the government reversed part of the rule in October.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
The tactic appears to have backfired, however, after Democrats successfully undertook the same strategy in California and later Virginia, which, along with Utah, have adopted new maps giving them 10 additional seats.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
That strategy backfired — as did Boston’s reliance on drop coverage — as the 76ers rookie became the youngest player in NBA history to drop 30 points with 10 rebounds in a playoff game.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
Both manoeuvres backfired against Liverpool at the Amex Stadium in March.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
In New York, efforts by billionaires to defeat a democratic socialist mayoral candidate backfired spectacularly.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026
Just don't try anything like these pranks from companies that backfired in spectacular ways.
—Joe Mutascio, IndyStar, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backfired
Verb
-
The brief, failed ouster of Altman in 2023 almost collapsed the ChatGPT maker, with investors pressing the board to bring back Altman and employees pledging to quit en masse if the CEO wasn’t reinstated.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Over the past 50 years, the average size of wildlife populations has collapsed by 73% owing to nature loss and climate change.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Under Cook, the company has become less surprising but massively financially successful; some of Apple’s newer products have flopped or underperformed, but far more have become and stayed excellent thanks to years of competent iteration.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Cuomo’s podcast and mayoral bid flopped.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Those lower judges eventually rejected his arguments, and Reed boomeranged back to the justices.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The wild part is how quickly that creator theme boomeranged back at us in real time.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backfired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backfired. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
