Backfired
Started and backfired are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Started" instead a verb "Backfired".
Nearby Words: backfire, backfiring
Both words in one sentence
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Too bad it backfired and instead, started volcanic eruptions that threatened to destroy the planet.
Source: Manga / Spriggan - He tried to stand up for a smaller boy who was getting bullied at school, but it backfired when everyone started picking on Keisuke instead...including the smaller boy he was just defending.
Source: Close to Home -
It kinda-sorta backfired: now, instead of one triangle, fans started shipping two entirely different ones: One involving the SWAT Kats and Callie, and other involving The SWAT Kats and Felina.
Source: Western Animation / SWAT Kats
Cite this Source
Started and Backfired. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/backfired/started
Backfired & Started. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/backfired/started>.
Started or Backfired. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/backfired/started.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "backfired" and "started" have occurred on timeline