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Synonyms

vanward

American  
[van-werd] / ˈvæn wərd /

adjective

  1. toward or in the van or front.

vanward British  
/ ˈvænwəd /

adjective

  1. in or towards the front

"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

Etymology

Origin of vanward

First recorded in 1810–20; van 1 + -ward

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.

These were the persons,—the two extremities of exalted and forlorn humanity, its vanward and its rearward man, a Roman consul and an abject slave.

From The Art of Public Speaking by Carnagey, Dale

“She is not Cleopatra, but she is at least Charmian,” wrote Keats, conscious that his damsel was not in the vanward of the pageant of ladies. 

From Hearts of Controversy by Meynell, Alice Christiana Thompson

But our place must be the vanward, Other leading brook not we— Bearing England's banner onward, The Britannia cleaves the sea.

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

My wound is deep, I fain would sleep; Take thou the vanward o' the three, And hide me by the bracken bush That grows upon the lily lee.

From The Balladists Famous Scots Series by Geddie, John

And where it trod he saw the torch Of conflagration stalk the skies, And in the vanward of its march The monster form of Havoc rise.

From Myth and Romance Being a Book of Verses by Cawein, Madison Julius

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.