Backwards
adverb
In the direction that is opposite to the one that is normal or expected.
The car moved backwards until it reached the wall.
Often appears as...
- move backwards
- look backwards
adverb
In a way that is less advanced or developed.
I feel we are going backwards instead of making progress.
Often appears as...
- go backwards
- moving backwards
Usage tips
Disapproving
adverb
From the end to the beginning.
Can you read this sentence backwards?
Often appears as...
- read backwards
- spell backwards
adverb
In a way that places the body with the back or rear part facing in the direction of movement.
She fell backwards onto the bed.
Often appears as...
- fall backwards
- look backwards
adverb
In the direction that is opposite to the one that is normal or expected.
The car moved backwards until it reached the wall.
Often appears as...
- move backwards
- look backwards
adverb
In a way that is less advanced or developed.
I feel we are going backwards instead of making progress.
Often appears as...
- go backwards
- moving backwards
Usage tips
Disapproving
adverb
From the end to the beginning.
Can you read this sentence backwards?
Often appears as...
- read backwards
- spell backwards
adverb
In a way that places the body with the back or rear part facing in the direction of movement.
She fell backwards onto the bed.
Often appears as...
- fall backwards
- look backwards
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/2Opposite Direction
Used when someone or something moves in the opposite direction of what is usual.
The dancer spun backwards, away from the audience.
Pro Tip 2/2Unexpected Action
Describes a scenario that deviates from what one might normally anticipate.
The video played backwards, startling everyone.
Compare with
abackcontraryinvertoppositerecederegressiveretrogradereverse
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Video examples
How to spot a liar PIPE...
is they come in and in very subtle ways over the course of several hours, they will ask that person to tell that story backwards, and then they'll watch them squirm, and track which questions produce the highest volume of deceptive tells. Why do they do that? Well, we all do the same thing. We rehearse our words, but we rarely rehearse our gestures.
Video examples
ONE HOUR Of Amazing...
passage of water in the world you're on there for four days non-stop rolling backwards and forwards so it's just this real sense of adventure as you're going across you come out of drake's passage and then all of a sudden you're coming down the peninsula past all these icebergs and really entering into this
Video examples
Why do your knuckles...
But the reason it's important for knuckle cracking is that, like other fluids in your body, it contains lots of dissolved gas molecules. Knuckle-crackers know that to get that satisfying pop, you stretch the joint farther than it normally goes by bending your fingers backwards, for example.
Video examples
Michael McDaniel: Cheap,...
was bent over backwards to help us with anything we needed. So now we had a hangar space to work in, and prototypes to demo with. So in one year, we've negotiated manufacturing agreements, been awarded one patent, filed our second patent, talked to multiple people, demoed this to FEMA
Video examples
Why the octopus brain is...
Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton to support our bodies, with joints that allow us to move. But not all types of movement are allowed. You can't bend your knee backwards, or bend your forearm in the middle, for example. Cephalopods, on the other hand, have no bones at all,
Video examples
4 Adorable Animals That...
they feed on a variety of leaves buds and fruits in the wild and have an excellent sense of smell which helps them to find the tastiest vegetation they also have the ability to move their back legs independently from one another meaning they can walk backwards along
Video examples
Does time exist? -...
eventually filling the glass. Imagine watching the opposite happen. Here, we’d recognize time as unfolding backwards. We live in a universe where the food coloring spreads out in the water, not a universe where it collects together. In physics, this is described by
Video examples
See the Remarkable Way...
there was one of the craziest thing that I've ever done in my life and the coolest thing about my first marathon was I ran it backwards I was out there so long it was no one at the finish line as a matter of fact I finished in last
Video examples
How to rebuild the world...
most important plants have been these the cereal crops and in particular the first three he's gone backwards not forwards let's try that again I mean these the cereal crops and in particular the first three wheat rice and maize
Video examples
What is schizophrenia? -...
The antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia have helped researchers work backwards to trace signatures of the disorder in the brain. Traditional antipsychotics block dopamine receptors.
Video examples
How to spot a liar PIPE...
is they come in and in very subtle ways over the course of several hours, they will ask that person to tell that story backwards, and then they'll watch them squirm, and track which questions produce the highest volume of deceptive tells. Why do they do that? Well, we all do the same thing. We rehearse our words, but we rarely rehearse our gestures.
Video examples
ONE HOUR Of Amazing...
passage of water in the world you're on there for four days non-stop rolling backwards and forwards so it's just this real sense of adventure as you're going across you come out of drake's passage and then all of a sudden you're coming down the peninsula past all these icebergs and really entering into this
Video examples
Why do your knuckles...
But the reason it's important for knuckle cracking is that, like other fluids in your body, it contains lots of dissolved gas molecules. Knuckle-crackers know that to get that satisfying pop, you stretch the joint farther than it normally goes by bending your fingers backwards, for example.
Video examples
Michael McDaniel: Cheap,...
was bent over backwards to help us with anything we needed. So now we had a hangar space to work in, and prototypes to demo with. So in one year, we've negotiated manufacturing agreements, been awarded one patent, filed our second patent, talked to multiple people, demoed this to FEMA
Video examples
Why the octopus brain is...
Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton to support our bodies, with joints that allow us to move. But not all types of movement are allowed. You can't bend your knee backwards, or bend your forearm in the middle, for example. Cephalopods, on the other hand, have no bones at all,
Video examples
4 Adorable Animals That...
they feed on a variety of leaves buds and fruits in the wild and have an excellent sense of smell which helps them to find the tastiest vegetation they also have the ability to move their back legs independently from one another meaning they can walk backwards along
Video examples
Does time exist? -...
eventually filling the glass. Imagine watching the opposite happen. Here, we’d recognize time as unfolding backwards. We live in a universe where the food coloring spreads out in the water, not a universe where it collects together. In physics, this is described by
Video examples
See the Remarkable Way...
there was one of the craziest thing that I've ever done in my life and the coolest thing about my first marathon was I ran it backwards I was out there so long it was no one at the finish line as a matter of fact I finished in last
Video examples
How to rebuild the world...
most important plants have been these the cereal crops and in particular the first three he's gone backwards not forwards let's try that again I mean these the cereal crops and in particular the first three wheat rice and maize
Video examples
What is schizophrenia? -...
The antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia have helped researchers work backwards to trace signatures of the disorder in the brain. Traditional antipsychotics block dopamine receptors.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jesse Williams
American Actor
As an actor, you want to be able to move your character forward into new ground, but also it's really interesting to go backwards and unpeel those layers and the interesting elements of what your character is and what informs the decisions that you make so that you can have as much meat to work with.
Quote examples
Jason Bateman
American Actor
I look at whatever the finish line is for the character and then kind of act backwards from that and play him in such a way so that that finish line is more rewarding.
Quote examples
Kris Carr
American Author
I kind of blossomed backwards. I got cancer, fell in love and have a magical life. I never imagined it would happen that way, but you just go with the flow, right?
Quote examples
Joe Cornish
English Comedian
I worry whether it's not really the best way to live one's life - trying to fulfill the dreams you had as a child. Maybe it's quite a backwards approach.
Quote examples
Harvey Fierstein
American Actor
It's a wonderful world. You can't go backwards. You're always moving forward. It's the wonderful part about life. And that's terrific.
Quote examples
Jeremy Paxman
British Journalist
I've always thought you have to live life looking forwards, not backwards. I've had no interest at all in who my ancestors are.
Quote examples
Eric Roth
American Writer
Ultimately it doesn't matter whether you go forwards or backwards: you need to live your life as well as you can.
Quote examples
Daniel Cameron
Joe Biden is a backwards thinker in a world craving forward-looking leadership.
Quote examples
Joshua Oppenheimer
British Director
All we can do is find the courage to stand still and to look backwards.
Quote examples
Soren Kierkegaard
Danish Philosopher
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Quote examples
Jesse Williams
American Actor
As an actor, you want to be able to move your character forward into new ground, but also it's really interesting to go backwards and unpeel those layers and the interesting elements of what your character is and what informs the decisions that you make so that you can have as much meat to work with.
Quote examples
Jason Bateman
American Actor
I look at whatever the finish line is for the character and then kind of act backwards from that and play him in such a way so that that finish line is more rewarding.
Quote examples
Kris Carr
American Author
I kind of blossomed backwards. I got cancer, fell in love and have a magical life. I never imagined it would happen that way, but you just go with the flow, right?
Quote examples
Joe Cornish
English Comedian
I worry whether it's not really the best way to live one's life - trying to fulfill the dreams you had as a child. Maybe it's quite a backwards approach.
Quote examples
Harvey Fierstein
American Actor
It's a wonderful world. You can't go backwards. You're always moving forward. It's the wonderful part about life. And that's terrific.
Quote examples
Jeremy Paxman
British Journalist
I've always thought you have to live life looking forwards, not backwards. I've had no interest at all in who my ancestors are.
Quote examples
Eric Roth
American Writer
Ultimately it doesn't matter whether you go forwards or backwards: you need to live your life as well as you can.
Quote examples
Daniel Cameron
Joe Biden is a backwards thinker in a world craving forward-looking leadership.
Quote examples
Joshua Oppenheimer
British Director
All we can do is find the courage to stand still and to look backwards.
Quote examples
Soren Kierkegaard
Danish Philosopher
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Example 1 of 10
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