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rearward

adjective · adverb · noun

Simple meaning

Toward the back or rear of something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rirwerd

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɪɹwɚd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Toward the back or rear of something.

adverb

  1. At or to or toward the back or rear

noun

  1. The part that comes last or is situated in the rear; conclusion, wind-up.

  2. The last troop; the rear of an army; a rear guard.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Toward the back or rear of something.

Used this way, rearward is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • back , a specialist term, precise but narrower

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use rearward

  • “His outfit marched to the rearward of the tank divisions.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

rearward movementrearward positionrearward facingrearward servicesrearward motionrearward directionrearward communicationsrearward extension

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: toward the back or rear of something

backwardbackTechnical

adverb

Sense: at or to or toward the back or rear

backward

Antonyms

Sense: toward the back or rear of something

forward

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.