Backwards
['bækwədz] or ['bækwɚdz]
Definition
(adv.) With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
(adv.) Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.
(adv.) On the back, or with the back downward.
(adv.) Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
(adv.) By way of reflection; reflexively.
(adv.) From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
(adv.) In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards.
Edited by Bertram
Synonyms and Synonymous
ad. Regressively, rearwards, aback, behind, ABAFT.
Typed by Chauncey
Examples
- The carriage was ready: they were bringing it round to the front, and my master was pacing the pavement, Pilot following him backwards and forwards. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Would you read backwards the unchangeable laws of Necessity? Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- She paused--twisted the cloth in her hands, backwards and forwards, and whispered to herself, What is it he said? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- There was a general rush to the carriages, and Mr. Huskisson, in trying to enter his carriage, slipped backwards and fell upon the rails. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The room in which the ladies sat was backwards. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Nathaniel Pipkin could make no reply, so old Lobbs shook him backwards and forwards, for two or three minutes, by way of arranging his ideas for him. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- He poured out these words fiercely, all in a breath, walking backwards and forwards, and striking about him in the air with his whip. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The men were working backwards toward the little party who were facing away from the sailors. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- It nearly knocked me backwards. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Spain and Portugal, indeed, are supposed to have gone backwards. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Bring the sacks, he shouted to Anselmo as he walked backwards. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Stepping backwards, facing the foe as he went, he guarded his prey to the counting-house. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It may or may not be connected with our inquiry, but we will follow it backwards before we go any farther. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Between the two, shifting backwards and forwards at certain seasons of the year, lies the most horrible quicksand on the shores of Yorkshire. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- And being nailed to the tops of fence posts to be pushed over backwards for the others. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- You have been carrying the Diamond backwards and forwards, here and in London, and you are still a living man! Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Though it goes backwards and forwards between the ground and the granary, it never changes masters, and therefore does not properly circulate. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The infuriated beast, pulled up and backwards until he stood upon his hind legs, struggled impotently in this unnatural position. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- To come backwards and forwards here, in the same way, for ever? Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Between these two turns, hidden from the lodge on one side, and from the way to the station on the other, I waited, walking backwards and forwards. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Forwards to our time or backwards away from us? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Here, he dodged backwards and forwards, and did all sorts of things while I looked helplessly at him. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Because, my dear, you see, many people can't ride backwards; and there's Mrs. Hodson my wife as is one of them. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The opening being then closed by a screw-nut, the apparatus, which is mounted on pivots, with an appropriate stand, is swung backwards and forwards like a pendulum. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- While I was under these circumstances, two rats crept up the curtains, and ran smelling backwards and forwards on the bed. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- China, however, though it may, perhaps, stand still, does not seem to go backwards. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The hall lamp was now lit, and it amused her to look over the balustrade and watch the servants passing backwards and forwards. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- He did not know how long he had been walking uneasily backwards and forwards, but Rosamond felt that it was long, and wished that he would sit down. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Rolling bridges are suspended from a structure high above the water, and are propelled backwards and forwards by means of rollers. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
Typed by Chauncey