backfire
verb/ˈbækˌfaɪər/
Frequency rank: #11,565 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)
Meaning
to produce the opposite of the intended result; to go wrong in a way that harms the person who made the plan.
Example sentence
The plan to cut costs is likely to completely backfire if employees start quitting in large numbers.
Synonyms & related words
More words in ranks 11,501–11,600
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