as in countryside
usually backlands plural
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
they purposely vacationed in the backlands to get away from people
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of backland
But more migrants, moving farther into remote backlands to elude the Border Patrol, have died in scorching desert heat, a shameful indicator that enforcement is having an effect in many places.
—
Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2024
His protagonist, living in direst poverty in Brazil’s arid backlands, decides to migrate to the wealthier coast.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 1 Dec. 2019
Born in the arid backlands of Brazil’s north-east, Mr Gilberto arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 as a singer in one of the then-fashionable vocal ensembles.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Tucked in the emerald backlands of Fayetteville, Georgia, inside a cavernous soundstage at Pinewood Studios, Mara Brock-Akil is in full field marshall mode.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 19 June 2018
Patrícia Santos da Silva, 24, and her family live in the city of Santana do Ipanema, in the western backlands of Alagoas.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 1 Nov. 2017
Some escaped and formed clandestine communities in the backlands of the rainforest, independent villages known as quilombos.
—Smithsonian, 21 Sep. 2017
Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2024
His protagonist, living in direst poverty in Brazil’s arid backlands, decides to migrate to the wealthier coast.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 1 Dec. 2019
Born in the arid backlands of Brazil’s north-east, Mr Gilberto arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 as a singer in one of the then-fashionable vocal ensembles.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Tucked in the emerald backlands of Fayetteville, Georgia, inside a cavernous soundstage at Pinewood Studios, Mara Brock-Akil is in full field marshall mode.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 19 June 2018
Patrícia Santos da Silva, 24, and her family live in the city of Santana do Ipanema, in the western backlands of Alagoas.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 1 Nov. 2017
Some escaped and formed clandestine communities in the backlands of the rainforest, independent villages known as quilombos.
—Smithsonian, 21 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backland
Noun
-
Otherwise, there is not a great deal for miles around other than fields and countryside, cattle and birdsong and the occasional row of thatched cottages.—
Daniel Taylor,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Radwan Alo fled his home in the countryside outside Qardaha, the hometown of the Assad family, and crossed the river into Lebanon.—
Hogir Abdo,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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For example, summer offers bushes for hiding, while winter’s snow will crunch under your feet, potentially alerting enemies.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
-
It’s abandoned now and has fallen into disrepair, with broken slats on the wood steps and prickly bushes growing over the front porch.—
Melinda Newman,
Billboard,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Celebrity can be as alluring as royalty to someone who grew up eating gruel in the hinterlands, though such concepts must be imparted somehow.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
-
From obscurity to fame Pandas once roamed a vast swath of China, along with parts of northern Myanmar and Vietnam, but human encroachment and climate change shrank the habitat of the bamboo-munching bears to just six mountain ranges above the Sichuan basin, deep in China’s hinterland.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The slow, tranquil sojourn along the lower Mekong River, cruising through rural Cambodia and Vietnam’s backwaters, felt more like being on a 19th-century yacht than a modern cruise liner.—
Julia Zaltzman,
Robb Report,
11 Mar. 2025
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These comprehensive trails span both Baldwin and Mobile counties, following the coastline, wetlands, and backwaters—all crucial stopover habitats for migratory birds.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Both countries are isolated by sanctions imposed by the West.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Trump has long believed that the U.S. trade deficit is an indication that Americans are getting ripped off by other countries.—
Chad P. Bown,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Finding escaped marsupials in the vast Australian outback may sound much harder than finding a needle in a haystack.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2025
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Take the story of the longest living trapdoor spider, who survived in the Australian outback to the ripe age of 43.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
21 Dec. 2024
Noun
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While most automakers have relegated AI to safety-system technology in current models, Mercedes' use of AI in the cabin is a new frontier for the North American market, especially for a vehicle on the lower end of a company's lineup.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Newsweek,
13 Mar. 2025
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Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America’s Old West, and as a tool of terror and political repression in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.—
Jeffrey Collins,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backland.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backland. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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