untoward

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌʌntəˈwɔrd/ UK /ˌʌntəˈwɔːd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient

Nothing untoward happened during the long flight.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unexpected and... unfortunate unfavorable adverse awkward inconvenient improper unseemly

Opposites

favorable fortunate seemly proper

Word family

Derived forms untowardlyuntowardness

Related forms toward forward

Etymology

From un- ('not') plus toward in its older sense 'docile, compliant, promising', from Old English tōweard ('approaching, future'), from tō ('to') plus -weard ('-ward, turned toward').

un- Old English tōweard Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# untoward

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌʌntəˈwɔrd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌʌntəˈwɔːd/

## Meanings
1. unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient

## Examples
- Nothing untoward happened during the long flight.

## Synonyms
- unfortunate
- unfavorable
- adverse
- awkward
- inconvenient
- improper
- unseemly

## Antonyms
- favorable
- fortunate
- seemly
- proper

## Derived Forms
- untowardly
- untowardness

## Related Forms
- toward
- forward

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: tōweard

## Etymology
From un- ('not') plus toward in its older sense 'docile, compliant, promising', from Old English tōweard ('approaching, future'), from tō ('to') plus -weard ('-ward, turned toward').

## AI Etymology
Untoward comes from un- ('not') plus toward in its older sense 'docile, compliant, promising', from Old English tōweard ('approaching, future'), from tō ('to') plus -weard ('-ward, turned toward'). The historical chain includes Old English un- and Old English tōweard. The quoted older senses, "not", "docile, compliant, promising", "approaching, future", "to", and "-ward, turned toward", supply the semantic anchors for untoward. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word untoward carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient". English derivatives include untowardly and untowardness; related English forms include toward and forward. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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