untoward
adjective
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Toward and Untoward
For centuries, the adjective toward described “forward-moving” youngsters, the kind who showed promise and were open to listening to their elders. The adjective then came to mean amiable or obliging. The opposite of this now-obsolete sense of toward is froward, meaning “disobedient.” Froward has fallen out of common use, but thankfully another toward antonym, untoward, obliged in picking up the slack. In addition to describing people or things that are “difficult to guide, manage, or work with,” untoward today is applied to that which is unfavorable or adverse, as well as to things that are inappropriate or in bad taste.
Examples of untoward in a Sentence
Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025
During a ChatGPT conversation, the AI discerns that the person is on the brink of doing something untoward.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Nor is there anything untoward and deceptive about it.
—Adam Gelb, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Nearly two years after Denny Crum's death and an untoward incident that left his gravesite monument at the bottom of the Red Sea, the legendary University of Louisville men's basketball coach's final resting place is nearing completion.
—Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for untoward
Cite this Entry
“Untoward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untoward. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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untoward
adjective
ˈən-
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