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backtalk

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

baktawk

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbæktɔk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.

verb

  1. transitive

    To respond to in an aggressively disputatious, often sarcastic or insolent manner.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.

Used this way, backtalk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • lip , more casual, better suited to speech than writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

reflective backtalk

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: verbal impudence or argumentative discourse or given in response

lipInformal

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.