Synonyms for backwards
back·wards

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. backwardsadjective

   Oriented toward the back.

   The battleship had three backwards guns at the stern, in addition to the primary complement.

   Synonyms:
   rearward, hindwards, retrograde

2. backwardsadverb

   In the opposite direction of usual.

   The clock did not work because the battery was inserted backwards.

   Synonyms:
   switched, back to front, reversedly, contrariwise, mirror image

3. backwardsadjective

   In a manner such that the back precedes the front.

   The tour guide walked backwards while droning on to the bored seniors.

   Synonyms:
   in reverse, obsolete, crude, dated, primitive, back to front

4. backwardsadjective

   Clumsy, inept, or inefficient.

   He was a very backwards scholar, but he was a marvel on the football field.

   Synonyms:
   fumbling, awkward, incompetent, poor

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.7 / 3 votes

1. back, backward, backwards, rearward, rearwardsadverb

   at or to or toward the back or rear

   "he moved back"; "tripped when he stepped backward"; "she looked rearward out the window of the car"

   Synonyms:
   rearwards, back, backward, rearward

2. backward, backwardsadverb

   in a manner or order or direction the reverse of normal

   "it's easy to get the `i' and the `e' backward in words like `seize' and `siege'"; "the child put her jersey on backward"

   Synonyms:
   rearwards, back, backward, rearward

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. magnetic reversal

   going the opposite way

   we should do the steps backwards to solve the problem.

   Submitted by rinat on September 4, 2019  

2. reverse order

   they have the same meaning

   reverse the order you are headed go backwards

   Submitted by anonymous on December 26, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. backwardsadjective

   Synonyms:
   regressively, rearwards, aback, behind, ABAFT

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "backwards":

   back, backward, retrograde, rearward, upside-down, behind, ago, back-to-front

How to pronounce backwards?

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How to use backwards in a sentence?

1. Joe Biden:

   The extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress have chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate and division. But together, we can and we must choose a different path forward.

2. Derrick Barnes:

   I can’t say thank you enough, all of us who don’t want this country to go backwards, banning books in a country all about diversity, every parent, celebrity, and person who is an advocate of literacy and truth and real American history needs to speak out so our voices remain louder than the opposition.

3. Jonathan Blum:

   We have seen tremendous progress with low Covid rates within the nursing home population and I think we're seeing signs that it is starting to tip the other direction. We don't want to go backwards.

4. Carrie Severino:

   Anyone who says originalism is rooted in White supremacy has it backwards, the three Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution were meant to eliminate White supremacy in the law.It was by departing from that meaning that the late 19th century/early 20th century Court became an enabler of Jim Crow.

5. Ann Landers:

   Nobody gets to live life backwards. Look ahead -- that's where your future lies.