forwardness

[fawr-werd-nis]

See more synonyms for forwardness on Thesaurus.com

noun

overreadiness to push oneself forward; lack of appropriate modesty; presumption; boldness.
cheerful readiness; promptness; eagerness.
condition of being in advance.

Origin of forwardness

First recorded in 1515–25; forward + -ness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for forwardness

impertinence, presumptuousness, rudeness

Examples from the Web for forwardness

Contemporary Examples of forwardness

It gives you the sense of the forwardness of history as well as the backwardness.
Archbishop Pitches on Youtube For More Souls As He Prepares To Christen George
Tom Sykes
October 22, 2013
Something like (forgive my forwardness) “No representation without taxation.”
How the Wall Street Protesters Win
Lee Siegel
October 14, 2011

Historical Examples of forwardness

Gilian was trembling and parched at the lips now, awake to the enormity of his forwardness.
Gilian The Dreamer
Neil Munro
Then, half-ashamed and startled at her forwardness, her gaze dropped.
Patchwork
Anna Balmer Myers
At least I showed no forwardness; to that I was sworn, and adhered most obstinately.
Simon Dale
Anthony Hope
Such was their forwardness on the 10th, that it was determined to summon the commandant.
Southern Literature From 1579-1895
Louise Manly
The ships in Cadiz are getting in forwardness to put to sea.
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez, Vol. I
Sir John Ross

British Dictionary definitions for forwardness

forwardness

noun

lack of modesty; presumption; boldness
willing readiness; eagerness
a state or condition of advanced progress or development

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for forwardness

1520s, from forward (adj.) + -ness. Meaning "presumptuousness" is from c.1600.