untoward
Americanadjective
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unfavorable or unfortunate.
Untoward circumstances forced him into bankruptcy.
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improper.
untoward social behavior.
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Archaic. froward; perverse.
adjective
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characterized by misfortune, disaster, or annoyance
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not auspicious; adverse; unfavourable
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unseemly or improper
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out of the ordinary; out of the way
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archaic refractory; perverse
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obsolete awkward, ungainly, or uncouth
Other Word Forms
- untowardly adverb
- untowardness noun
Etymology
Origin of untoward
Explanation
The adjective untoward describes something offensive or inappropriate, like the rumors of untoward behavior that can shatter a Hollywood icon's reputation. Untoward also describes things that are not good for you, such as untoward advice from someone your parents always said was a bad influence. Think about what you do when you move toward something: you get closer to it. Suppose you're moving toward a goal. You are, as they say, "on the right path." But when you add the prefix un- you reverse that, and you're no longer on the path to that goal — you're untoward.
Vocabulary lists containing untoward
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo thought he had scored a second goal in Tuesday's 2-0 win at Newcastle United, no-one seemed to have a clue there was anything untoward.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
Is she doing something untoward with his money?
From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025
“There were times during those days that we did not make it to school due to inclement weather or some other untoward event,” she wrote in a biographical post on the McAdoo Center website.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025
“I just know,” she insists, “something untoward has happened.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
There was no fire, no smoke, not the slightest untoward noise.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
