Backward
['bækwəd] or ['bækwɚd]
Definition
(adj.) directed or facing toward the back or rear; 'a backward view' .
(adj.) (used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature; 'a backward lover' .
(adj.) having made less than normal progress; 'an economically backward country' .
(adj.) retarded in intellectual development .
(adv.) 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''; 'the child put her jersey on backward'.
Typist: Marietta--From WordNet
Definition
(adv.) Alt. of Backwards
(a.) Directed to the back or rear; as, backward glances.
(a.) Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath.
(a.) Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull; inapt; as, a backward child.
(a.) Late or behindhand; as, a backward season.
(a.) Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped; as, the country or region is in a backward state.
(a.) Already past or gone; bygone.
(n.) The state behind or past.
(v. i.) To keep back; to hinder.
Checker: Rudolph
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Averse, unwilling, reluctant, loath, disinclined, indisposed, wavering, hesitating.[2]. Dull, sluggish, slow, stupid, stolid.[3]. Late, tardy, behindhand, after the usual time.
ad. Regressively, rearwards, aback, behind, ABAFT.
Checker: Micawber
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See BACKWARDNESS]
Inputed by Frieda
Definition
adv. towards the back: on the back: towards the past: from a better to a worse state: in a direction opposite to the normal—also Back′wards.—adj. Back′ward keeping back: unwilling: slow: late: dull or stupid.—n. the past portion of time.—n. Back′wardation percentage paid by a seller of stock for keeping back its delivery till the following account.—adv. Back′wardly.—n. Back′wardness.—Backward and forward to and fro.—To ring bells backward to ring them beginning with the bass bell in order to give tidings of dismay.
Inputed by Joanna
Examples
- But immediately afterwards the armature springs backward and makes contact at _P_ and the entire operation is repeated. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- One workman is seen cutting a long strand from a hide which he turns round as he cuts, while another man walks backward with this, twisting it as he goes. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Will you, she said, go backward or forward? Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- They had proceeded but a short distance when a backward glance revealed to the horrified gaze of Mr. Philander that the lion was following them. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Hortense, when she mentioned Louis, described him as having what she called des moyens, but as being too backward and quiet. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I was backward, seemed desirous of being excused, had not had sufficient time to correct, &c. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I ran to the hydrant, leaned over backward, opened my eyes, and ran the hydrant water right into them. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- When the gate is raised, the water moves forward, but the motion, so to speak, runs backward. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The process bears as much resemblance to statecraft as sitting backward on a runaway horse does to horsemanship. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- As I was ignorant of the month in which Sir Percival was born, I began my backward search with the early part of the year. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- No, said Will, shaking his head backward somewhat after the manner of a spirited horse. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The scene before the reddleman's eyes was a gradual series of ascents from the level of the road backward into the heart of the heath. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Those deep gray eyes rather near together--and the delicate irregular nose with a sort of ripple in it--and all the powdered curls hanging backward. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- In one of the backward moves, on the 6th, the division commanded by General Prentiss did not fall back with the others. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- This bar-clasp could be moved backward and forward on a rod as the spinner’s hand would do when stretching the thread and winding it on. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- This annular space is increased at will by means of the lever L, which acts upon a screw whose office is to cause the pipe B and its attached parts to move backward or forward. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Unless the powder from a badly fitting cartridge happens to spurt backward, one may fire many shots without leaving a sign. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- I've seen unfortunate little creatures left to servants, or backward ones pushed forward, when it's real cruelty. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- In a sense the mind of savage peoples is an effect, rather than a cause, of their backward institutions. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- No, I am ignorant and backward, Joe. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Yes, said Will, impetuously, shaking his head backward, and looking away from her with irritation in his face. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- He, too, had caught a fleeting backward glimpse of cruel yellow eyes and half open mouth within startling proximity of his person. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- With,' returned the man, pointing backward over his right shoulder with his right thumb, 'the T'other Governor? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- This arrangement interfered with correct meter registration, as the meters on one side of the system registered backward during the hours in which the combination was employed. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- He fell backward in his chair, and, clasping his hands together, gazed on the apparition with a mingled look of abhorrence and fear. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- If a mirror is held so that a ray of light strikes it in a perpendicular direction, the light is reflected backward along the path by which it came. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Thinkest thou our word is a feather, to be blown backward and forward between us? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- To answer this, we must carry the reader backward in his history. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Before the officers had taken a dozen backward steps the men were upon them. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- But she's an old brick, said Alfred, rising from his chair, and pulling Mary's head backward to kiss her. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
Inputed by Joanna