backward
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old English abakward (from on bæc + -weard). back + -ward
Adjective [edit]
backward (comparative more backward, superlative most backward)
- (of motion) Pertaining to the direction towards the back.
- (of motion) Pertaining to the direction reverse of normal.
- The occasional backward movement of planets is evidence they revolve around the sun.
- Reluctant or unable to advance.
- 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 51
- Then her eyes, always alert for the affairs of her kitchen, fell on some action of the Chinese cook which aroused her violent disapproval. She turned on him with a torrent of abuse. The Chink was not backward to defend himself, and a very lively quarrel ensued.
- Don't be backward in suggesting story ideas to local media but always think of the wants, needs and desires of their readers when selling-in story ideas.[1]
- 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 51
- Of a culture considered undeveloped or unsophisticated.
- Most cruelly, the immediate security interests of the United States and the states surrounding Somalia are now to keep it a failed state, to prevent Islamists from consolidating even a weak state centered on Mogadishu. The leader of the victorious faction, one Aden Hashi 'Ayro, is said to be a veteran of Afghanistan; he knows well what a small sanctuary in a backward corner of the globe can mean for al Qaeda. [2]
- Pertaining to a thought or value that is considered outdated.
- Replace the morbid, bankrupting, backward idea of superpower domination: Weapons dismantled. Global warming reversed. Perhaps, in time, overpopulation, poverty, starvation, ignorance and disease all resolved. Thus, moral determination combined with 21st Century science, ecology and social initiatives will make possible a resonant fulfillment of our American Revolution [3]
- (cricket) On that part of the field behind the batsman's popping crease.
- (cricket) Further behind the batsman's popping crease than something else.
Synonyms [edit]
- (in reverse direction): retrograde
- (of an undeveloped culture): third world
Antonyms [edit]
- (of an undeveloped culture): forward
- (of an outdated thought): progressive
Translations [edit]
of the direction towards the back
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of the direction reverse of normal
reluctant to advance
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undeveloped
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of an outdated value
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Adverb [edit]
backward (comparative more backward, superlative most backward)
- (of motion) In the direction towards the back; backwards
Synonyms [edit]
Antonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
in the direction towards the back
Related terms [edit]
Noun [edit]
backward
- The state behind or past.
- Shakespeare
- In the dark backward and abysm of time.
- Shakespeare
