backward. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

backward

SYLLABICATION:	back·ward
PRONUNCIATION:	bkwrd
ADJECTIVE:	1. Directed or facing toward the back or rear. 2. Done or arranged in a manner or order that is opposite to previous occurrence or normal use. 3. Unwilling to act; reluctant; shy. 4. Behind others in progress or development: The technology was backward, but the system worked.
ADVERB:	or back·wards (-wrdz) 1. To or toward the back or rear. 2. With the back leading. 3. In a reverse manner or order. 4. To, toward, or into the past. 5. Toward a worse or less advanced condition.
OTHER FORMS:	backward·ly —ADVERB backward·ness —NOUN
USAGE NOTE:	The adverb may be spelled backward or backwards, and these forms are interchangeable: stepped backward; a mirror facing backwards. In Standard English, however, the adjective has no –s: a backward view.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.