backhanded

UK: /ˌbækˈhændɪd/ US: /ˈbækˌhændɪd/ ,(bak′han′did)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

back•hand•ed /ˈbækˌhændɪd/   adj. 

1. performed with the back of the hand turned forward:
   a backhanded tennis stroke.
2. sloping in a downward direction from left to right:
   backhanded writing.
3. ambiguous and often the opposite in meaning:
   a backhanded compliment.

adv. 

4. with the hand across the body:
   caught the ball backhanded.

back•hand•ed•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

back•hand•ed  (bak′han′did), adj. 

1. performed with the hand turned backward, crosswise, or in any oblique direction so that the palm of the hand faces in the direction of the body and the back of the hand faces in the direction of forward movement.
2. sloping in a downward direction from left to right:
   backhanded writing.
3. oblique or ambiguous in meaning;
   indirect;
   insincere or malicious;
   wry:
   backhanded methods; a backhanded compliment.
4. Textiles [Ropemaking.] noting a rope in which the yarns and the strands are laid in the same direction, the rope itself being laid in the opposite direction.

adv. 

5. with the hand across the body;
   backhand:
   He caught the ball backhanded.

• back² + handed 1790–1800

back′hand′ed•ly, adv. 
back′hand′ed•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

backhanded / ˌbækˈhændɪd/ adjective

1. (of a blow, shot, stroke, etc) performed with the arm moving across the body
2. double-edged; equivocal: a backhanded compliment
3. (of handwriting) slanting to the left

adverb

1. in a backhanded manner