Directed to the back or rear; as, backward glances.
Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath. For wiser brutes were backward to be slaves. Pope.
Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull; inapt; as, a backward child. "The backward learner." South.
Late or behindhand; as, a backward season.
Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped; as, the country or region is in a backward state.
Already past or gone; bygone. [R.] And flies unconscious o'er each backward year. Byron.
The state behind or past. [Obs.] In the dark backward and abysm of time. Shak.
To keep back; to hinder. [Obs.]
98,828 entries. Headwords are matched first, then definition text.