(v. i.) To slide back; to fall away; esp. to abandon gradually the faith and practice of a religion that has been professed.
Example Sentences:
(1) Yet what has been unfolding in the past 15 months or so should make even the most ardent pro-European think about an orderly mechanism for making member states exit: the euro crisis and, less obviously, Hungary's backsliding from liberal democracy to a soft form of authoritarianism, or what an American paper recently called " Lukashenko lite ".
(2) Nasheed clearly understood the need to commune with power – but he also talked about the best way of pushing backsliding politicians in the right direction.
(3) In what appeared to be a concerted Conservative attack, Johnson began by accusing Labour of backsliding over wiping existing tuition fee debts.
(4) A populist government whose democratic backsliding has been ringing alarm bells in Europe will embrace a US president who shares its illiberal views and hostility to migrants.
(5) And how would citizens enforce their rights if there is backsliding, either by the UK for EU residents or by Spain, Germany or any of the other 27 EU member states in the case of UK citizens?
(6) The prime minister was accused of backsliding on promises made by Vote Leave after she cast doubt on the effectiveness of a system admitting people on the basis of their skills and refused to commit an extra £100m to the NHS.
(7) Alex is a hard act to follow but I am determined to lead the SNP – and the country – from strength to strength.” Reiterating her determination to ensure that Holyrood secures the powers promised to Scotland by the pro-union parties before the referendum, she said: “I will always make the case for Scotland to be an independent country, but with the Westminster parties already backsliding on the delivery of new powers, my immediate job will be to hold them firmly to account – and I am today putting them on notice that I intend to do just that.” Sturgeon also announced a speaking tour of cities across Scotland to rally the thousands of new members who have joined the SNP since the referendum on 18 September.
(8) African leaders said ahead of today's talks that they would raise concerns about G8 backsliding.
(9) China was accused of trying to backslide on agreements made last year, by reinstating text that had been left out by previous agreement.
(10) Unions have accused the government of “total betrayal” as it emerged that up to 800 redundancies from Clydeside shipyards could result from backsliding on David Cameron’s pledge to provide a steady stream of orders to safeguard the industry.
(11) The European parliament recently expressed serious concern about “serious backsliding” in Turkey over rights and press freedom , part of a perceived anti-democratic trend under Erdoğan’s presidency.
(12) The AidWatch report singled out the two biggest countries in the eurozone – Germany and France – for backsliding on commitments they had made, and said it was worried that 14% of EU aid – €7.35bn – did not reach developing countries.
(13) Earlier this week Yvo de Boer, the UN's senior climate change official, accused the EU of backsliding on promises it made at a 2007 summit in Bali.
(14) But America is constant paradox; we are backsliding into something insidious, ignoring the civil liberties of black people, denying the basic respect of recognizing the humanity and possibility of black lives.
(15) It may be because Britain has been the international poster child for austerity over the past couple of years and it would encourage backsliding by other, less determined, governments if the Fund gave Osborne the signal to let up.
(16) I think they might backslide on Brexit and I think they will be pushing forward with very, very unpopular policies, raising taxes, penalising small businesses, taking an even bigger stick than they have already to the poorest people on benefits.” Matthew Goodwin, a senior fellow at Chatham House, had predicted that less than half of those who backed Ukip under Farage in the 2015 general election would do so again, with a third moving to the Conservatives.
(17) By their backsliding on gay equality, the Conservatives are missing out on lots of potential pink votes.
(18) It is ridiculously low.” Javadekar said the pledges to the green climate fund amounted to backsliding.
(19) The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said that, far from backsliding, "the EU is going into the final nine months before Copenhagen stronger and stronger".
(20) This meeting is still likely to end with a feel-good statement that some form of progress has been made towards the 2015 goal, but the danger is that between now and that crucial date any further upsets, backsliding, failure to agree finance or deepening rifts between rich and poor could derail the whole process.
Shirk
Definition:
(v. t.) To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.
(v. t.) To avoid; to escape; to neglect; -- implying unfaithfulness or fraud; as, to shirk duty.
(v. i.) To live by shifts and fraud; to shark.
(v. i.) To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away.
(n.) One who lives by shifts and tricks; one who avoids the performance of duty or labor.
Example Sentences:
(1) Others have found more striking-power, or more simple poetry, but none an interpretation at once so full (in the sense of histrionic volume) and so consistently bringing all the aspects together, without any shirking or pruning away of what is inconvenient.
(2) A new report is just another excuse for those in power to shirk responsibility, to blame the people they have already degraded once and who cannot defend themselves.
(3) Time at home, alone, without chores, is still often felt as shirking responsibility.
(4) He’s taking a lot of stick at the moment – as everyone is – but it is a measure of him that he fronts it up every day and doesn’t shirk it.
(5) Shirk said one-party China – a country most still associate with little more than economic success and autocratic governance – saw a chance to rebrand itself as a benevolent great power acting in the common good.
(6) Neville has work ahead; the good news is that he will not shirk it.
(7) While some bosses shirk from defending their personal pay deals, Horta-Osório – whose 10-strong management team cashed in on £23m through the same bonus scheme – does not.
(8) Schreiber points out that some of the debates against the ERA were about "masculinity run amok": "Phyllis Schlafly said if we were are treated as equals, then men will shirk their responsibilities," she notes.
(9) Poon said Beijing was attempting to shift the focus on to how much medical attention Liu was receiving to shirk responsibility for its “cold-blooded” treatment of the democracy activist.
(10) They chased every ball, never shirked a tackle and, when they needed a centre-forward to show composure and experience, they had a 32-year-old from Stoke City, with silver flecks in his hair, who passed the test with distinction.
(11) Focusing on glorifying and eternalising the leaders and taking refuge in God and inserting them into hidden shirk [idolatry] through immortalising ephemeral, temporary personalities.
(12) At the same time, we will not shirk from vigorously defending our right and proper role to expose wrongdoing in the public interest."
(13) Are workers seen as a burden, a cost, people who would rather skive and shirk responsibilities, and who have to be supervised rigorously at all times?
(14) Jones said Australia was engaging with the UN with goodwill on how best to tackle the crisis, and not on how to shirk its international responsibilities.
(15) As Republicans we will not shirk our responsibility and we believe that it is now necessary for us to take this lead in bringing the agreement to its conclusion.
(16) "My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.
(17) But he has never been one to shirk a challenge, choosing to serve in Vietnam so he could stay in the US after moving to New York in the 1960s.
(18) Some European partners are shirking from the task,” she said.
(19) However, human rights groups say Britain is shirking its legal responsibilities – fearful that the route could be seen as a “back door” to Britain – and coercing people into staying put while paying Cyprus to house and feed them.
(20) It’s not me shirking my responsibilities, I take internet security seriously, but I can’t always protect myself against an army of online fraud experts.