backhandedly
1
8.9
- adverb
- /ˌbækˈhændɪdli/
- Informal
:
indirectamente
- That wasn't meant backhandedly, lol!
Examples
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I can be snarky without backhandedly insulting anyone's rear ends.
Blog text (10) -
The point I was trying rather backhandedly to make is that it is unrealistic to think that we can control enough climate forcing parameters to pinpoint a desirable world temperature and enforce it.
Blog text (30) -
Well, he's working towards something that he will also in some ways backhandedly discredit.
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I don't mean to backhandedly endorse the idea that neither of the nominees would be a good president.
Blog text (28) -
Both backhandedly brushed off her emotional response to the situation and insinuated she had selfish intentions.
Blog text (30) -
He derives the pleasure from the virtue and he derives the pleasure backhandedly from the avoidance of pain.
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So can't we lament the decline of literacy without backhandedly suggesting that video game enthusiasts are ignorant?
Blog text (17) -
And then going to a feminist blog to read about body image without worrying that some random guy is going to backhandedly criticize my body because, in his unsolicited opinion, my breasts are just too big to be attractive.
Blog text (10) -
She complimented him backhandedly, saying that his latest project was surprisingly good for someone like him.
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He backhandedly praised her cooking by joking that it was better than the last time.
Synonyms
78
4.2
In a way that does not say something clearly, often by a hint or through someone else
2
8.4
In a dishonest way, by pretending not to know something
In a quiet, sly way that hints at something
Antonyms
How Indirect
Surface Forms
Morphology
backhandedly = backhanded (opaque) = back + hand + ed + ly
Although morphologically composed of known parts, the figurative sense 'insincere/indirect' is idiomatic and not reliably derivable from the components by typical learners.
Etymology
Backhandedly is also used in a non-physical way, from the idea of a backhand as a sly or hidden 'hit' rather than a direct blow. So to speak backhandedly is to say something that seems polite but secretly hurts or is not sincere.