Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Directed or facing toward the back or rear.
  • adjective Done or arranged in a manner or order that is opposite to previous occurrence or normal use.
  • adjective Unwilling to act; reluctant; shy.
  • adjective Behind others in progress or development.
  • adverb To or toward the back or rear.
  • adverb With the back leading.
  • adverb In a reverse manner or order.
  • adverb To, toward, or into the past.
  • adverb Toward a worse or less advanced condition.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In the direction of the back: as, to throw the arms backward.
  • With the back first in the direction of motion: as, to walk backward; to fall backward.
  • In the direction from which one has come; toward that which is or has been left behind: as, he glanced backward.
  • Toward bygone times or events; toward that which is past in time: as, to look backward to the last century.
  • In or by reflection; reflexively.
  • In time past; ago.
  • In an opposite or contrary direction.
  • In an opposite or reverse order; from the end toward the beginning; in an order contrary to the natural order: as, to read or spell backward; hence, perversely; in a wrong or perverse manner.
  • From a better to a worse state; retrogressively.
  • Directed to the back or rear: as, “a backward look,”
  • Reversed; returning; directed to or toward the original starting-point: as, a backward movement or journey.
  • Done in reverse order; done in an order contrary to the natural order, as in repeating a sentence from the end to the beginning.
  • Being in, or placed at, the back.
  • Slow; sluggish; unprogressive; unadvanced; behind in progress: as, a backward learner.
  • Late; behind in time; coming after something else, or after the usual time: as, backward fruits; the season is backward.
  • Holding back; averse; reluctant; hesitating.
  • Timid; bashful; retiring in disposition; modest.
  • Reaching back into the past; already past.
  • noun The things or state behind or past.
  • To obstruct; keep back; retard; delay.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To keep back; to hinder.
  • noun obsolete The state behind or past.
  • adverb With the back in advance or foremost.
  • adverb Toward the back; toward the rear.
  • adverb On the back, or with the back downward.
  • adverb Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
  • adverb By way of reflection; reflexively.
  • adverb From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
  • adverb In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily.
  • adjective Directed to the back or rear.
  • adjective Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath.
  • adjective Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull; inapt.
  • adjective Late or behindhand.
  • adjective Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped.
  • adjective rare Already past or gone; bygone.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of motion Pertaining to the direction towards the back.
  • adjective of motion Pertaining to the direction reverse of normal.
  • adjective Reluctant or unable to advance.
  • adjective Of a culture considered undeveloped or unsophisticated.
  • adjective Pertaining to a thought or value that is considered outdated.
  • adjective cricket On that part of the field behind the batsman's popping crease.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English abakward (from on bæc + -weard). back +‎ -ward

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Examples

  • A human society can either fall backward or progress forward, but it cannot _progress backward_.

    The Arena Volume 4, No. 22, September, 1891 Various 1888

  • I sat at the kitchen counter and drew my name backward with the juice of a stray tomato slice cut for the reception.

    The Adults Alison Espach 2011

  • I sat at the kitchen counter and drew my name backward with the juice of a stray tomato slice cut for the reception.

    The Adults Alison Espach 2011

  • All the hidden assistant had to do was trace out the phrase backward and it would magically appear on the front of the board.

    The Secret Life of Houdini William Kalush 2006

  • All the hidden assistant had to do was trace out the phrase backward and it would magically appear on the front of the board.

    The Secret Life of Houdini William Kalush 2006

  • Those who have studied modern Chinese history will recognize what connotations the term backward (落后 or luò hòu) means for the Chinese people.

    About.com China Online 2009

  • And neither was my mother really; she was 50 percent, and if she had been there, she would have been not singing, but telling people that I spent a lot of time as a child learning how to spell my name backward.

    The Adults Alison Espach 2011

  • And neither was my mother really; she was 50 percent, and if she had been there, she would have been not singing, but telling people that I spent a lot of time as a child learning how to spell my name backward.

    The Adults Alison Espach 2011

  • That's what I call a backward slide down the slippery slope of self-centeredness, away from grace, and relying pretty much on my own devices.

    Grace Susan 2008

  • That's what I call a backward slide down the slippery slope of self-centeredness, away from grace, and relying pretty much on my own devices.

    Archive 2008-10-01 Angcat 2008

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