backfiring
present participle ofbackfire
backfire
verb[I]
uk/ˌbækˈfaɪər/us/ˌbækˈfaɪr/backfireverb[I](BAD RESULT)
(of aplan) to have theoppositeresultfrom the one youintended:
Herplansto make himjealousbackfiredonher when hestarteddatingherbestfriend.
Failing and doing badly
- abjectly
- at-risk
- backbencher
- balls(something)up
- be on your beam endsidiom
- blow
- blow(someone/something)up
- bomb
- fall to piecesidiom
- fight a losing battleidiom
- flog
- flog a dead horseidiom
- flop
- founder
- rebound
- rot
- running on emptyidiom
- sclerotic
- smoke
- the rot sets inidiom
backfireverb[I](ENGINE)
(of anengine) to make aloudnoiseas aresultoffuelburningtoo early:
I waswokenby thesoundof atruckbackfiring.
Machines - Functioning
- action
- actuator
- asthmatically
- deactivation
- engaged
- firesomeoneup
- function assomething/someone
- functional
- functionality
- functioning
- in commissionidiom
- light
- operate
- operational
- order
- power
- reset
- self-driving
- start (something) up
- tick over
Examplesofbackfiring
backfiring
In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.
Indirect mechanisms for motivating conservation run a risk ofbackfiring, to the extent that they are not carefully planned to align commercial and conservation incentives.
From theCambridge English Corpus
One could say that his result demonstrates thebackfiringof those tactics.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Socialism is thusbackfiringon the people because of its poor economic management and its dogmatic cosmopolitanism.
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
I firmly believe that anti-discrimination measures have a nasty habit ofbackfiringand themselves becoming discriminatory.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
And that all of that was in my eyes all the time,backfiringall these years...
From
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.He often finds himself building huge machinery, such as roach-catching contraptions, most of the time resulting in thembackfiring.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Gunfire can be confused with other sounds that can sound similar, such as firework explosions and carsbackfiring.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.I tried to pass if off as a carbackfiring, but it kept happening over and over.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Outside, a car isbackfiringrepeatedly and a marching band is passing by.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Larson was visibly annoyed by his early buzz-inbackfiring.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Gunfire acoustics must be distinguished reliably from noises that can sound similar, such as firework explosions and carsbackfiring.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Reaching the recruitment center, police beganbackfiringtheir motorcycle engines.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These losses were in addition to $4 billion that localities had already paid to unwindbackfiringinterest rate swaps.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.The sounds of airplanes overhead and trucksbackfiringas they drove past the studio were covered with appropriate music.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Lines may also be created by "backfiring:" creating small, low-intensity fires using driptorches or flares.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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- socioeconomic inequality
- socioeconomic inequality
- socioeconomic level
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