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backward

/ˈbækwɚd/adjective, adverb2 syllables

Backward means: directed or facing toward the back or rear.

Synonyms for backward49

adjective, as in directed or facing toward the back or rear

backswept, sweptback, cacuminal, retroflex, converse, reversed, transposed, inverse, reverse, rearward, receding, reflexive, self-referent, regardant
and 8 more, retracted, retral, retrograde, retroflexed, returning, reversive, regressive, retrospective

adjective, as in retarded in intellectual development

half-witted, slow-witted, feebleminded, retarded

adjective, as in (used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature

bashful, blate, timid

adjective, as in having made less than normal progress

undynamic, adynamic

adverb, as in at or to or toward the back or rear

back, backwards, rearward, rearwards

adverb, as in in a manner or order or direction the reverse of normal

backwards

adverb, as in in or to or toward a past time

back

also used for backward

hindwards, contrariwise, mirror image, switched, back to front, crude, antediluvian, antiquated, parachronistic, anachronistic, antediluvial, antique, overdue, tardy, behindhand

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opposites of backward

forward

What does backward mean?7

adjective

1

directed or facing toward the back or rear“a backward view”

2

retarded in intellectual development

3

(used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature“a backward lover”

4

having made less than normal progress“an economically backward country”

adverb

1

at or to or toward the back or rear“he moved back”

2

in a manner or order or direction the reverse of normal“it's easy to get the ‘i’ and the ‘e’ backward in words like ‘seize’ and ‘siege’”

3

in or to or toward a past time“set the clocks back an hour”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Backward in a sentence

  • Whoever does not move forward every day, returns backward every day.Amntag
  • If you are not going forward, you're going backward.carlosalberto
  • I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.Adelpa
  • Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.carlosalberto
  • Social conditions are going backward rather than forward.shekitten
  • He bent over backward to please his wife.CK
  • It's not possible to travel backward in time.Hybrid
  • Trembling uncontrollably, Anna stumbled backward upon encountering the enormous spider on the ceiling.Amastan

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.