to face backlash
4
6.1
- phrasal verb
- Literature
- I mean, do you have any advice for, you know, medical practitioners who are facing backlash for going against sort of this medical dogma?
- also faced backlash
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Watch on YouTubeI mean, do you have any advice for, you know, medical practitioners who are facing backlash for going against sort of this medical dogma?
- I mean, do you have any advice for, you know, medical practitioners who are facing backlash for going against sort of this medical dogma?
Examples
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Prominent influencers are facing backlash for throwing parties in LA amid COVID.
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The company's decision to relocate employees is facing backlash from the local community.
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After announcing the controversial policy, the mayor faced backlash from residents and activists.
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The celebrity faced backlash on social media for her comments about the event.
Synonyms
8
6.7
To attract criticism and angry reactions for what you say or do
2
8.3
To get criticism or blame from others for something you did
1
7.4
Get a lot of criticism or blame from other people
1
9.5
To get very harsh public criticism
To receive harsh criticism in public
Antonyms
How Severe
- Literature
4
6.1
7
5.8
57
5.5
649
3.0
45
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: the verb 'face' (to confront or undergo) combined with the noun 'backlash' (a strong negative reaction) yields the predictable sense 'to experience a strong negative reaction.' This follows a common English construction (face + noun) with clear cross‑linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Face backlash paints a picture of someone standing with their face toward others while a sudden backlash — like a strong push of angry words or criticism — hits them. So it means 'to experience a strong negative reaction'.