149+ Must-Read Backstabbing Quotes That Perfectly Sum Up

While backstabbing friends are a part of life, profound and eye-opening quotes about backstabbing will help you heal from it and inspire you to move forward.

If you’re searching for best quotes ever that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of famous fake friends quotes, disappointment quotes, and quotes on healing.

Backstabbing hurts badly. You can get wisdom from this collection of profound backstabbing quotes to help you recover and move forward even after you lost trust.

Navigating the pain and betrayal of backstabbing can be challenging. Reading quotes about such experiences can offer perspective, catharsis, and perhaps a sense of solidarity to those who have encountered similar situations. Here are some unique backstabbing quotes that articulate the complexities of betrayal and the resilience of the human spirit:

Backstabbing Quotes

Backstabbers specialize in saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person. – Les Parott

If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. – Epictetus

Backstabbing is the language of the insecure, spoken through actions that reveal their true character.

Your life must be filled with such incredible loneliness that your only joy comes from destroying everyone else’s happiness. – Mary Margaret

Dealing with backstabbers, there was one thing I learned. They’re only powerful when you got your back turned. – Eminem

The knife of betrayal may wound you, but it also carves out the strength you never knew you had.

backstabbing friend quotes

You know that you have been stabbed when you feel the deep pain of betrayal. – Les Parrott

Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It’s what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust in others when that happens. Don’t let them take that from you. – Sherrilyn Kenyon

True colors are shown in the dark shadows of betrayal, where loyalty is but a whisper in the wind.

False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us when we cross into the shade. – Christian Nevell Bovee

To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal. – Malcolm X

backstabbing quotes and sayings

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. – William Blake

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise. – Maya Angelou

Betrayal sharpens the focus on truth, teaching us that trust is a treasure, guarded and rare.

There are many backstabbing friends who in your hard time will ignore you, without to ask something from them. You just are filled with sadness and they don’t confide in you anymore. The downside of your hard time is being considered rude, negative, boorish and insistent. – Camelia C.

All trust involves vulnerability and risk, and nothing would count as trust if there were no possibility of betrayal. – Robert C. Solomon

quotes on backstabbing

Be certain that he who has betrayed thee once will betray thee again. – Johann Caspar Lavater

Backstabbing, gossiping, greed and power games are a sign of an unhealthy organization. – Rhoberta Shaler

The irony of backstabbing is that it often comes from those we gave the pen to write in the chapters of our trust.

No one ever really pays for betrayal in silver…. The price of any betrayal always comes due in flesh. – Stephen King

I know of one man who spent his best energies backstabbing. – George Mazzei

backstabbing quotes with pictures

Betrayal is never easy to handle and there is no right way to accept it. – Christine Feehan

Betrayal does that betrays the betrayer. – Erica Jong

In the garden of life, backstabbers are the weeds that show their thorns, reminding us to appreciate the true flowers of friendship.

Bestfriends has 11 letters, but so does Backstabber. – Wiz Khalifa

I’ll bet you would not list gossip, backstabbing or negativity as one of the desirable values you hold dear. – Rhoberta Shaler

Best Backstabbing Friends Quotes

Inspirational backstabbing quotes will help you heal from it and inspire you to move forward. Also, letting go quotes inspire you to move on and trust those who you can count on. Remember that you’re in control of your emotions and of how you treat others.

It’s hard to tell who has your back, from who has it long enough just to stab you in it? – Nicole Richie

Although I’m proposing these two rules to strengthen your ability to deal with backstabbing, you’re still going to have to protect yourself – you don’t want to get stabbed in the front for your troubles. – Ronny J. Coleman

Backstabbing occurs when a coworker lies low on a project and then grabs credit when it’s nearing completion. – Les Parrott

Backstabbing is a collection of wrongs.

The pain of betrayal is a dark ink, but from it, we can pen chapters of resilience and rebirth.

Trust is a fragile thing once earned, it affords us tremendous freedom, but once trust is lost, it can be impossible to recover of course the truth is, we never know who we can trust. Those we’re closest to can betray us. – Mary Alice Young

Be careful to whom you trust. Betrayal always come from the persons you trusted. – Anurag Prakash Ray

Backstabbing occurs when a friend agrees with you when the two of you are alone but later sides with your opponents in a social setting. – Les Parrott

Backstabbing is a mirror, reflecting the fragile egos and hidden insecurities of those who wield the knife.

We can tolerate our true enemies, but not the back stabbers and betrayers. – Sanji Paul Arvind

Backstabbing occurs when you share a confidence with someone at church only to learn later that the person has told your story on the prayer chain. – Les Parrott

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks. – Arthur Miller

Backstabbing is nothing new. In biblical times, King David experienced the pain of betrayal. – Les Parrott

Betrayal does not steal your fire; it ignites it, teaching you to blaze brighter with the wisdom of experience.

I would never betray a friend to serve a cause. Never reject a friend to help an institution. Great nations may fall in ruin before I would sell a friend to save them. – Edward Abbey

Backstabbing, by the way, is not to be confused with a minor slipup like canceling lunch at the last minute or neglecting to return a phone call. – Les Parrott

FIDELITY, n. A virtue peculiar to those who are about to be betrayed. – Ambrose Bierce

When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself. – Isaac Bashevis Singer

An enemy can be better than a backstabber.

The shadows of deceit reveal the light of those who stand with us in truth, their loyalty shining like stars in the night.

One of the favorite pastimes of Backstabbers is recounting slights and grievances they’ve carried for years. – Les Parrott

Some people are used to backstabbing; they always have a knife in their back.

There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks he speaks lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays his trust. – Muhammad

I am grateful to those who have betrayed me… They thought they were just stabbing me in the back, but they were also cutting me free from their poisonous life. – Steve Maraboli

Better to have an enemy who slaps you in the face than a friend who stabs you in the back.

A backstabber’s words are like hollow bullets; they may pierce the surface, but the soul remains untouched and resilient.

We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal. – Tennessee Williams

Never trust on unknown hands, you will never know how they stand by you and back stab with their brains. – Debolina Bhawal

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies. – Unknown

Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the single person you thought would never hurt you. – Unknown

You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead. – Anais Nin

If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. – Unknown

There is no greater blessing than a family hand that lifts you from a fall; but there is not lower curse than a family hand that strikes you when you’re down. – Wes Fessler

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo. – Aldrich Ames

It was a mistake, you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine, for trusting you. – David Levithan

When you realize you’ve been deeply betrayed, fear really hits you. That’s what you feel first. And then it’s anger and frustration. Then disappointment and disillusionment. – José N. Harris

Betrayal’s deepest wound is not the act itself, but the realization that the one who wielded the knife was once called a friend.

Watch out for those who are watching your back.

When you’re out of sight for as long as I was, there’s a funny feeling of betrayal that comes over people when they see you again. – Esther Williams

Sometimes the people closest to you betray you, and your home isn’t a place you can be happy anymore. – Kristin Cas

I used to advertise my loyalty and I don’t believe there is a single person I loved that I didn’t eventually betray. – Albert Camus

I got you a gift – a new knife for all the backstabbing you seem to enjoy so much.

You want to believe that there’s one relationship in life that’s beyond betrayal. A relationship that’s beyond that kind of hurt. And there isn’t. – Caleb Carr

Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime. – Mineko Iwasaki

Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love. – John le Carre

Famous Quotes About Backstabbing

You can recover from a lot of wrongs but as sad betrayal quotes show us, dealing with backstabbing is a tough journey. Instead of allowing the other person’s behavior to effect your life negatively shape, let feeling hurt quotes help you learn to grow and evolve from the experience.

Life has taught me that you can’t control someone’s loyalty. No matter how good you are to them, doesn’t mean that they will treat you the same. No matter how much they mean to you, doesn’t mean that they’ll value you the same. Sometimes the people you love the most, turn out to be the people you can trust the least. – Trent Shalton

Love and marriage are wonderful arenas in which to place a character. We are most likely to risk our morals and beliefs while in love. Betrayal gives tremendous insights into a character as well. – Anita Shreve

Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That’s really where failure comes. – Tom Cochrane

It’s funny how sometimes the people you’d take a bullet for are the ones behind the trigger. – Unknown

I could never hurt him enough to make his betrayal stop hurting. And it hurts, in every part of my body. – Veronica Roth

If you’re betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root. – Toba Beta

The worst pain in the world goes beyond the physical. Even further beyond any other emotional pain one can feel. It is the betrayal of a friend. – Heather Brewer

I have been stabbed in the back by those I needed the most. I’ve been lied to by those I love. And I have felt alone when I couldn’t afford to be. But at the end of the day, I had to learn to be my own best Friend, because there’s going to be days where no one is going to be there for me but myself. – Unknown

The path of betrayal is littered with the debris of broken trust, a stark reminder to walk in the light of genuine connections.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. – Proverbs 27:6

There is always a lesson of a lifetime to learn in every betrayal. – Edmond Mbiaka

Betray a friend and you’ll often find you have ruined yourself. — Aesop

Being stabbed in the back can help you get rid of toxic people.

I’m not crying because of you; you’re not worth it. I’m crying because my delusion of who you were was shattered by the truth of who you are. – Steve Maraboli

Sometimes, instead of being hurt, you should look at betrayal as a gift. It makes it that much easier to sweep it up and toss it out with the rest of the trash. And why is that you ask? Because trash starts to stink…and when it does, it has no more value in your life. – Donna Schoenrock

One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it’s guilt, anger, love, loss or betrayal. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go. If you’ve been hurt until it breaks your soul into pieces, your perspective in life will definitely change, and no one and nothing in this world could ever hurt you again. – Mareez Reyes

Forgive yourself for the blindness that put you in the path of those who betrayed you. Sometimes a good heart doesn’t see the bad. – Unknown

In the aftermath of backstabbing, let the scars be your roadmap to stronger boundaries and deeper discernment.

Some people are willing to betray years of friendship just to get a little bit of the spotlight. – Lauren Conrad

An honest enemy is better than a false friend. When in doubt, pay more attention to what people do and less to what they say. Actions not only speak louder than words, they are more difficult to fake. – Zero Dean

I’m mature enough to forgive you, but I’m not dumb enough to trust you again. – Unknown

Love comes to those who still hope after disappointment, who still believe after betrayal, and who still love after they’ve been hurt. – Unknown

I may be many things, and there are even more I am not, but I would never do to you what you did to me, and I think that says a lot. – Jessica Katoff

The knives of betrayal and drama cut deep and hurt… but they also trim away the nonsense and reveal your true friends. – Steve Maraboli

The worst feeling in the world is knowing you’ve been used and lied to by someone you trusted. – Unknown

For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first. – Suzanne Collins

He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life. – Sophocles

It is kind of hard to sit down with the knife on my back, can you actually grab that for me and don’t twist it.

Pleasure which must be enjoyed at the expense of another’s pain, can never be such as a worthy mind can fully delight in. – Samuel Johnson

Anyone who hasn’t experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all. – Jean Genet

It’s not just about who’s being real to your face, but also about who’s being real behind your back. – Unknown

He who advises you to be reserved to your friends wishes to betray you without witnesses. – Don J. Manuel

Only trust thyself, and another shall not betray thee. – William Penn

When someone breaks your trust don’t feel stupid for trusting them. You didn’t do anything wrong they’re just an untrustworthy person. – Sonya Parker

In life you can easily trust someone, but once the trust is broken it’s very difficult to trust anyone again. – Sushan Sharma

Time alone can prove the worth of friendship. As time goes by we lose the false ones and keep the best. True friends stay when all the rest are gone. – Ritu Ghatourey

Always sleep with one eye open. Never take anything for granted. Your best friends might just be your enemies. – Sara Shepard

Keep talking about me behind my back, and watch God keep blessing me in front of your face. – Unknown

Don’t fear the enemy that attacks you, but the fake friend that hugs you. – Unknown

Backstabbers walk the road of loneliness, for every step they take in deceit distances them further from the warmth of true companionship.

People on the top seldom have enemies, it’s most often the flattering ‘friend’ who stab them in the back. – Amit Abraham

A stab from a friend cuts deeper than a stab from a foe. – Amit Kalantri

Top Backstabbing Quotes about Fake Friends or Family Members

Backstabbing from fake friends or family members may make you feel lonely, but being alone quotes will remind you that embrace yourself first and then find someone who can accompany your life. Quotes on backstabbing will inspire you to focus on the things that will nurture your spirit and fill your soul with happiness.

If you are protecting yourself against a backstabbing co-worker or underling that is another matter. No one should feel bad about staying alive when under direct attack. – George Mazzei

An open enemy is better than a false friend. – Greek Proverb

Stab the body and it heals but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime. – Mineko Iwasaki

One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though … betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope. – Steven Deitz

Sometimes your dearest friend whom you reveal most of your secrets to becomes so deadly and unfriendly without knowing that they were not really your friend. – Michael Bassey Johnson

They talk of a man betraying his country, his friends, his sweetheart. There must be a moral bond first. All a man can betray is his conscience. – Joseph Conrad

If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country. – E. M. Forster

Don’t worry about the people from your past, there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.

There must be love, and understanding, to betray. Most men haven’t the wit or the honor for betrayal: not to know it when they see it; not the stomach to apprehend it as they do it. Most men, blind and dumb in their self-centeredness, don’t betray they merely disappoint. – Janet Morris

Sometimes it’s not the people who change, it’s the mask that falls off.

People are complicated creatures. On the one hand, able to perform great acts of charity. On the other, capable of the most underhanded forms of betrayal. It’s a constant battle that rages within all of us. – Mary Alice Young

Watching my back is the perfect opportunity to stick a knife in it. – Holly Black

It’s particularly hard to take being stabbed in the back close to home. There’s always a feeling of betrayal when people of your own group oppose you. – Catharine MacKinnon

To understand loyalty, you need to experience betrayal. – Thomas

It wasn’t the knife your friend stab me in the back with that hurt me. It was the dagger of your silent acceptance.

You stabbed me then pretend you were the one who was bleeding.

Looking for your knife? You should try my back, that’s where I’ve last seen it.

Many times, you are the single most significant and glorious thing that has ever happened in the lives of some people; they sit around and talk about you over and over again throughout the years while you are out there living your life, every step that you take and every kiss that you make having absolutely nothing to do with them, at all! – C. JoyBell C.

A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken. – Cally

Do you believe a man can truly love a woman and constantly betray her? Never mind physically but betray her in his mind, in the very poetry of his soul. Well, it’s not easy but men do it all the time. – Mario Puzo

For me, I always wonder what’s worse: an emotional betrayal or a physical betrayal? That’s a really tough call. – Hilarie Burton

When no one you know tells the truth, you learn to see under the surface. – Cassandra Clare

You are going to break your promise. I understand. And I hold my hands over the ears of my heart, so that I will not hate you. – Catherynne M. Valente

It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. – Confucius

Your life must be so lonely that the only thing that brings you joy is hurting other people’s happiness.

Betrayal is common for men with no conscience. – Toba Beta

Only those you trust can betray you. – Terry Goodkind

The point was to learn what it was we feared more: being misunderstood or being betrayed. – Adam Levin

Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it. – Sara Gruen

She would see it as betrayal. Nothing more. Nothing less. – Samantha Young

We can depend on nobody in this world, and sometimes we even betray ourselves. – Dean Cavanagh

Betrayal isn’t ridiculous. It’s the reason empires fall. – Marisha Pessl

People who don’t keep promises, can’t be trusted. – RJ Intindola

These quotes capture the essence of betrayal’s pain while also highlighting the growth and insight that can emerge from such experiences. Readinf them can offer comfort, provoke thought, and inspire resilience in the face of adversity.

About the Author

Deniz Yalım is the founder and visionary behind BayArt, a platform renowned for its deeply resonant and inspirational content focusing on love, relationship, happiness, success and motivation. With a background rich in literature, psychology, and communication, Deniz has dedicated their career to the art of using words to inspire and empower. Passionate about the transformative power of language, Deniz has skillfully curated BayArt to be a platform for those seeking wisdom and guidance in the realms of love and life. Their writings not only reflect a deep understanding of human emotions and relationships but also aim to ignite change and encourage positive thinking. Through BayArt, Deniz Yalım continues to touch lives, offering solace, motivation, and a sense of connectedness to a global community.