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towardly

[tawrd-lee, tohrd-]
See more synonyms for towardly on Thesaurus.com
adjective Archaic.
  1. apt to learn; promising.
  2. docile; tractable.
  3. propitious; seasonable.
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Origin of towardly

First recorded in 1475–85; toward + -ly
Related formsto·ward·li·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for towardly

Historical Examples

  • My son Johnny was at the grammar school, and a towardly child.

    The World's Greatest Books, Vol VIII

    Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.

  • I found him at present, of touchstone, with the countenance of a towardly brat, sleeping ill through indigestion.

  • Honest traders, thrifty lads, they are rubbing on't; towardly boys, every one strives to lie nearest the mistress.

  • But it is surprising, in apt and towardly youth, how much there is to commend in the first essays.

    Thoughts on Man

    William Godwin

  • Docile and towardly during his seven- or nine-mile stage, he refused to perform more than his allotted task.

    Old Roads and New Roads

    William Bodham Donne

British Dictionary definitions for towardly

towardly

adjective archaic
  1. compliant
  2. propitious or suitable
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Derived Formstowardliness, noun
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