Word.ws English Dictionary

backhanded compliments

backhanded compliments is the plural of backhanded compliment.

Meaning of backhanded compliment

Noun

backhanded compliment (plural backhanded compliments)

  1. (idiomatic) An insult disguised as a compliment; a compliment which can be interpreted as an insult.
    • "[…] regardless of what he may say to you, he respects your great learning, and, therefore, has immense confidence in your judgment. The poor dear cannot differentiate between erudition and wisdom." Mr. Philander, with a mildly puzzled expression on his face, turned to pursue Professor Porter, and...1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 17, in Tarzan of the Apes

Questions about backhanded compliments

What is backhanded compliments the plural of?
Backhanded compliments is the plural of backhanded compliment.

Words near backhanded compliments in the dictionary

  1. backgrounds
  2. backgroundy
  3. backhand
  4. backhanded
  5. backhanded compliment
  6. backhanded compliments
  7. backhandedly
  8. backhandedness
  9. backhander
  10. backhanders
  11. backhanding

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backhanded compliments (page history and authors); backhanded compliment (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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