Meanings
plural frontlashes
- A swell of support for a proposal that counters any backlash.
In his keynote, John Paul Hudson condemned the "glossy commercialism" of David Goodstein and the Advocate, which he said was part of a gay media "backlash" -- while the anti-gay "frontlash" against gays continues.
1977 April 9, John Kyper, “Controversies Spark Maine Gay Symposium”, in Gay Community News, page 31 more example
When a president uses expansive powers and his policy works, he may benefit from a frontlash effect: the successful assertion of power will not only yield political dividends, it will also strengthen the office of the presidency itself.
1996, Richard M. Pious, The Presidency, page 89
Origin
Blend of front + backlash, coined by US president Lyndon B. Johnson with regard to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The word is still mainly used in reference to that Act.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
frontlash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontlash
“frontlash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontlash. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frontlash,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontlash.
Source: frontlash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.