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

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How to use backwards in a sentence?

1. 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.

2. Devin Allen:

   Bring this to everyday life. ... Either we're going to progress or we'll move backwards. now I understand how powerful an image can be. I understand I'm not too small to make a change. I'm still an activist. I'm still a protester, you know. But at the same time, I'm in a different place now.

3. Michael Frerichs:

   We’ll make far less in interest than we’ll be paying in interest to the bondholders, i think we need to make these investments in infrastructure, but we're going about it in the wrong order. It seems backwards issuing the bonds and hoping they get an appropriation to spend them.

4. Bob Thaves:

   Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.

5. Lewis County:

   What we did is we just went backwards on helping people with mental health needs, substance abuse disorders, and the homeless. Those three things go hand in hand, these laws have done nothing to protect those people and help those people get out of the situation they’re in.