backward

The word “backward” has 2 syllables: back-ward

It's pronounced as /ˈbæk.wərd/


What is synonym and antonym for backward?

In the thesaurus, “backward” has 84 synonyms and 37 antonyms.

Here are synonyms and antonyms for backward along with examples of usage in sentences.


Synonyms for backward

  • abaft
  • about
  • across
  • afraid
  • aft
  • after
  • anticlockwise
  • antisocial
  • around
  • arrested
  • astern
  • athwart
  • averse
  • awkward
  • back
  • bashful
  • behind
  • checked
  • counter
  • counterclockwise
  • coy
  • delayed
  • demure
  • diffident
  • disinclined
  • down
  • downward
  • downwards
  • embarrassed
  • hesitant
  • hesitating
  • hind
  • humble
  • in reverse
  • indisposed
  • inhibited
  • introverted
  • inverted
  • late
  • left-handed
  • left-handedly
  • loath
  • lone
  • lone-wolf
  • modest
  • obversely
  • posterior
  • rear
  • rearward
  • rearwards
  • recessive
  • reluctant
  • reserved
  • retiring
  • retrograde
  • reverse
  • reversed
  • reversely
  • round
  • self-conscious
  • self-effacing
  • sheepish
  • shy
  • slow
  • sternforemost
  • tardy
  • timid
  • toward the rear
  • turned around
  • unadventurous
  • unassertive
  • underdeveloped
  • undeveloped
  • uneager
  • uneasy
  • unenterprising
  • unsociable
  • unsocial
  • unwilling
  • uptight
  • wavering
  • widdershins
  • withdrawn
  • withershins

Antonyms for backward

  • advanced
  • aggressive
  • ahead
  • along
  • before
  • bold
  • boon
  • brash
  • clockwise
  • clubable
  • clubbable
  • companionable
  • convivial
  • dashing
  • deasil
  • developed
  • developing
  • extraverted
  • extroverted
  • forceful
  • forth
  • forward
  • forwards
  • gregarious
  • immodest
  • on
  • onward
  • onwards
  • outgoing
  • overbold
  • precocious
  • sociable
  • social
  • to the front
  • uninhibited
  • unreserved
  • unshy

Meanings of backward

  • noun
    1. The state behind or past.
  • adjective
    1. (of motion) In the direction towards the back.
    2. (of motion) In the direction reverse of normal.
    3. Reluctant or unable to advance.
    4. Of a culture: undeveloped or unsophisticated.
    5. Outdated.
    6. On that part of the field behind the batsman's popping crease.
    7. Further behind the batsman's popping crease than something else.
    8. Unwilling; averse; reluctant.
    9. Slow to apprehend; having difficulties in learning.
    10. Late or behindhand.
    11. Already past or gone; bygone.
  • adverb
    1. (of motion) In the direction towards the back; backwards.
    2. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
    3. By way of reflection; reflexively.
    4. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.

Example Sentences

  • His reluctance to embrace change held him backward in his career advancement.
  • The child struggled with tying shoelaces, a skill that seemed backward for his age.
  • The region's education system faced criticism for its backward approach to modern teaching methods.
  • Despite initial setbacks, the company made backward strides towards innovation and growth.
  • The political leader's outdated policies seemed backward compared to contemporary global standards.

On this page you'll find 121 synonyms, antonyms, or another words to backward, such as: abaft, about, across, advanced, afraid, aft, after.

Make sure to choose synonyms and antonyms that are appropriate for the context of the sentence.

Related Words

abaft

abashed

  • agitated
  • ashamed
  • awkward
  • backward
  • bashful
  • bewildered
  • bothered
  • bugged
  • chagrined
  • clumsy
  • confounded
  • confused
  • coy
  • crushed
  • debased
  • degraded
  • demeaned
  • demure
  • diffident
  • discombobulated
  • discomfited
  • discomforted
  • discomposed
  • disconcerted
  • discountenanced
  • dismayed
  • disquieted
  • distressed
  • disturbed
  • embarrassed
  • fazed
  • flustered
  • fuddled
  • gauche
  • graceless
  • humbled
  • humiliated
  • in a tizzy
  • inelegant
  • inhibited
  • insecure
  • introverted
  • jittery
  • jumpy
  • meek
  • modest
  • mortified
  • nervous
  • nonplused
  • nonplussed
  • perturbed
  • put off
  • put out
  • queered
  • rattled
  • recessive
  • reserved
  • retiring
  • rough-hewn
  • rustic
  • rustical
  • self-conscious
  • self-doubting
  • self-effacing
  • shamed
  • sheepish
  • shy
  • stiff
  • stilted
  • taken aback
  • timid
  • unadventurous
  • unassertive
  • unassuming
  • uncomfortable
  • uneasy
  • unenterprising
  • ungraceful
  • unhinged
  • unpretentious
  • unsettled
  • upset
  • uptight
  • withdrawn
  • wooden

back

  • aback
  • abaft
  • abet
  • abide by
  • about
  • across
  • adopt
  • advance
  • advise
  • advocate
  • affirm
  • aft
  • after
  • ago
  • agone
  • aid
  • ally
  • angel
  • anticlockwise
  • around
  • assist
  • astern
  • athwart
  • attend
  • avouch
  • back end
  • back of
  • backside
  • backstop
  • backtrack
  • backward
  • backwards
  • bail out
  • bankroll
  • bear a hand
  • behind
  • benefit
  • bolster
  • boost
  • buttress
  • champion
  • chink
  • comfort
  • confirm
  • corroborate
  • counsel
  • countenance
  • counter
  • counterclockwise
  • delayed
  • deliver
  • dorsal
  • down
  • downfall
  • downward
  • downwards
  • drive back
  • ease
  • elapsed
  • embolden
  • embrace
  • encourage
  • endorse
  • espouse
  • establish
  • extremity
  • facilitate
  • fall back
  • far end
  • favor
  • final
  • finance
  • following
  • former
  • forward
  • foster
  • further
  • give a boost
  • give a leg up
  • give a lift
  • go in for
  • go to bat for
  • grubstake
  • guide
  • hamartia
  • hearten
  • help
  • hind
  • hinder
  • hindmost
  • hindpart
  • hindquarters
  • hold a brief for
  • in the wake of
  • indorse
  • jugular
  • launch
  • left-handed
  • left-handedly
  • mentor
  • nurture
  • oblige
  • obversely
  • overdue
  • past
  • patronize
  • plug
  • posterior
  • preach
  • previous
  • profit
  • promote
  • prove
  • rear
  • rearmost
  • rearward
  • rearwards
  • recede
  • reenforce
  • regress
  • reinforce
  • repel
  • repulse
  • rescue
  • retire
  • retract
  • retreat
  • retrograde
  • reverse
  • reversely
  • round
  • ruin
  • sanction
  • save
  • second
  • serve
  • side with
  • since
  • soft spot
  • sponsor
  • stake
  • stand behind
  • stand up for
  • stern
  • sternforemost
  • stick by
  • stick up for
  • subsidize
  • substantiate
  • succor
  • support
  • sustain
  • syne
  • tail
  • tail end
  • tailpiece
  • talk up
  • to stand one in good stead
  • tragic flaw
  • turn tail
  • underbelly
  • underwrite
  • undoing
  • uphold
  • validate
  • verify
  • widdershins
  • withdraw
  • withershins

back of

  • aback
  • abaft
  • aft
  • after
  • afterwards
  • astern
  • at the heels of
  • at the rear of
  • back
  • backward
  • behind
  • below
  • bringing up the rear
  • eating the dust
  • ensuing
  • final
  • following
  • hind
  • hindmost
  • in back of
  • in the background
  • in the rear
  • in the wake
  • in the wake of
  • later
  • later than
  • next
  • off the pace
  • posterior
  • postern
  • postliminary
  • rear
  • rearmost
  • rearward
  • subsequential
  • subsequently
  • succeeding
  • tail
  • thereafter
  • trailing

dallying

  • aestivating
  • ambling
  • amorous
  • amusing
  • apathetic
  • apathy
  • arch
  • asleep on the job
  • backward
  • behindhand
  • bumming
  • careless
  • cavorting
  • chilling
  • comatose
  • come-hither
  • come-on
  • coquetting
  • coquettish
  • courting
  • coy
  • crawling
  • creeping
  • dabbling
  • dalliance
  • dawdling
  • decelerating
  • delaying
  • deliberate
  • delighting
  • diddling
  • dilatory
  • dillydallying
  • directionless
  • disporting
  • diverting
  • dozing
  • dragging
  • droning
  • dropping behind
  • drowsy
  • dull
  • easing
  • entertaining
  • enticing
  • estivating
  • falling behind
  • filibustering
  • flagging
  • flightiness
  • flippancy
  • flirting
  • flirty
  • flummery
  • folly
  • fooling
  • fooling around
  • footling
  • fribble
  • frippery
  • frisking
  • frisky
  • frivoling
  • frivolling
  • frivolousness
  • frolicking
  • fun
  • furloughing
  • futile
  • gaiety
  • gamboling
  • gambolling
  • game
  • giddiness
  • goldbricking
  • good-for-nothing
  • hanging
  • hanging about
  • hanging fire
  • heavy-footed
  • hibernating
  • idle
  • idleness
  • idling
  • inactive
  • inattentive
  • inching
  • incompetent
  • indifferent
  • indolence
  • indolent
  • inert
  • inertia
  • jest
  • jesting
  • joking
  • joshing
  • kicking around
  • kicking back
  • kidding
  • killing time
  • kittenish
  • lackadaisical
  • laggard
  • lagging
  • lallygagging
  • languid
  • languor
  • languorous
  • lassitude
  • late
  • lax
  • laziness
  • lazing
  • lazy
  • lazying
  • leading on
  • leisurely
  • lethargic
  • lethargy
  • levity
  • libidinous
  • lifeless
  • lightheartedness
  • lightness
  • lingering
  • listless
  • listlessness
  • loafing
  • loitering
  • lolling
  • lollygagging
  • lounging
  • lumbering
  • malingering
  • manipulating
  • marking time
  • mashing
  • measured
  • messing
  • messing around
  • monkeying
  • moping
  • moratory
  • moseying
  • mucking
  • neglectful
  • negligent
  • nonsense
  • out of it
  • passive
  • piddling
  • play
  • playing
  • pleasing
  • plodding
  • pokey
  • poking
  • poky
  • procrastinating
  • puerility
  • putting off
  • putting on
  • rambling
  • razzing
  • recreating
  • relaxing
  • remiss
  • resting
  • ribbing
  • rollicking
  • romping
  • sauntering
  • screwing around
  • shallowness
  • shiftless
  • shiftlessness
  • shilly-shallying
  • shuffling
  • skylarking
  • slack
  • sleepy
  • sloth
  • slothful
  • slow
  • slow-footed
  • slow-moving
  • slowing
  • sluggish
  • sluggishness
  • snail-like
  • snail-paced
  • snaillike
  • snoozy
  • somnolent
  • spoony
  • sport
  • sporting
  • sportive
  • staggering
  • stalling
  • stringing along
  • strolling
  • superficiality
  • supine
  • supineness
  • swanning
  • tardy
  • tarrying
  • teasing
  • temporizing
  • time-wasting
  • tired
  • torpid
  • toying
  • trifling
  • triviality
  • truanting
  • unambitious
  • unconcerned
  • unenergetic
  • unhasty
  • unhurried
  • unindustrious
  • unmotivated
  • unpersevering
  • unready
  • vamping
  • vegging out
  • volatility
  • weary
  • whimsicality
  • whimsy
  • wooing
  • worthless

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