Affixes

These two forms are virtually identical in meaning, the choice between them often being one of euphony or personal inclination. However, there is a strong tendency in British English for words in ‑wards to be adverbs (his car shot forwards), while those in ‑ward are more likely to be adjectives (she was a backward child), or occasionally nouns (let us look to the eastward). In American English, ‑ward is more usual in all cases.

The suffixes can be added to nouns that relate to some place or direction, and to adverbs that refer to a direction. They make adverbs and adjectives that indicate movement in some direction (backwards, eastward, towards, upward). A few refer to movement in time (afterwards). Examples are created as needed in the modern language: futurewards, holeward, lakewards, planetward, riverwards.