Word Confusion: Toward versus Towards

Posted November 2, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

There’s not much difference in this word confusion toward vs towards. To be honest, it mostly depends on if you’re American or British.

In the US and Canada, the preferred spelling is toward while the UK and Australia (and other English-speaking countries) prefer towards.

So consider the audience for whom you’re writing — as well as the nationalities of your characters.

Oh, and do consider the style manual you’re following: AP style and Chicago favor toward, The Academic Writer’s Handbook considers towards only acceptable for British English while The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook considers both toward and towards as acceptable. The MLA doesn’t care.

Whichever you choose, be consistent in using your choice.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may want to explore “Backward versus Backwards” as well.

You might also be interested in “Afterward(s) versus Afterword“.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Toward versus Towards” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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Toward		Towards
Man and Woman Striding Toward the Left is a pen-and-ink drawing by Giovanni Battista Caroto and is under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.		Boy Walking Towards Ball at =Daytime is in the public domain, via PickPik.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Adverb; Preposition		Preposition
Adjective: [Predic.; Archaic] Going on In progress Afoot About to come soon Imminent Propitious Favorable [Obsolete] Promising or apt, as a student Compliant Docile Adverb: In a given direction, typically toward something or someone specific Nearly, nearly so, almost Onward In the future Soon
	Preposition: In the direction of Getting closer to achieving (a goal) Close or closer to (a particular time) Shortly before As regards In relation to Contributing to the cost of (something) With a view to obtaining or having For In the area or vicinity of Near Turned to Facing As a help or contribution to With respect to As regards
Examples:
Adjective: Is something new toward? There is work toward. What’s toward? “Old Dean Herbert, hearing what was toward, comes tottering along hither, to plead humbly for himself and his mill” (Carlyle). “But ear that wiſhed day his beame diſcloſd, / He either enuying my toward good, / Or of him ſelfe to treaſon ill diſpoſd / One day vnto me came in friendly mood, / And told for ſecret how he vnderſtood / […]” (Spenser). We had a toward breeze, which helped immensely. We look toward your visit with pleasure. “My Miſtreſs had a Daughter of nine Years old, a Child of toward Parts for her Age, very dextrous at her Needle, and ſkilful in dreſſing her Baby” (Swift, ch 2). “As the pressure has mounted, Paul and Ally have moved toward and away from each other” (Libbey). She is a most toward child. Adverb: As toward your request, I’m afraid the bishop has denied it. He came toward running as easily as he would cut his throat. “Alle þe houres of þe day By þat tyme were passed away Safe þe nyght only Þat hyed toward hastily” (Sauer). “Aftir sir Gawayne departed, he rode many journeys both towarde and frowarde” (Mallory, p 689). “Þe first somenour warneþ al þe world þat þe day of rekenynge draweþ toward” (Wimbledon).
Preposition: I walked toward the front door. It was an irresistible move toward freedom. We should be ready toward the end of April. He was warm and tender toward her. What can I say? That was our attitude toward death. The council provided a grant toward the cost of new buses. They’re saving money toward a new house. Our cabin is toward the top of the hill. Her back was toward me. Look, it’s getting toward midnight. I’ll put a donation toward the cause. Can you put something toward Edith’s college fund? His attitude toward women is appalling.		Preposition: I walked towards the front door. It was an irresistible move towards freedom. We should be ready towards the end of April. He was warm and tender towards her. What can I say? That was our attitude towards death. The council provided a grant towards the cost of new buses. They’re saving money towards a new house. Our cabin is towards the top of the hill. Her back was towards me. Look, it’s getting towards midnight. I’ll put a donation towards the cause. Can you put something towards Edith’s college fund? His attitude towards women is appalling.
Derivatives:
Adjective: towardes, towardly, untoward Adverb: towardes Noun: towardliness, towardness Preposition: towardes
History of the Word:
Early Old English, before 900, tōweardes meaning facing, imminent (see to + -weard, -ward); Middle English toward.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Toward versus Towards

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

AWE.org: toward

Carlyle, Thomas. “Practical Devotional.” Past and Present. Originally published by Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, 1843. Good Press, 2019. <https://amzn.to/3QhaWIO>. Ebook.

Dictionary.com: toward

“Is It Toward or Towards?” Merriam-Webster. n.d. Accessed 30 Oct 2023. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/toward-towards-usage>.

Libbey, Peter. “What’s on TV Monday: Breeders and Never Have I Ever.” New York Times. 27 Apr 2020. Accessed 30 Oct 2023. <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/arts/television/whats-on-tv-monday-breeders-and-never-have-i-ever.html>.

Mallory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur. Originally published 1470. <https://bit.ly/47cjDLm>. Ebook.

Merriam-Webster: toward

Sauer, Walter. The Metrical Life of Christ. Originally published 1450? Winter, 1977. <https://amzn.to/49d42gi>. Print.

Spenser, Edmund. The Faerie Queene. book 2, canto 4. Originally published by William Ponsonbie, 1590. 2011. <https://amzn.to/472Fe8W>. Ebook.

Swift, Jonathan. “A Description of the Farmer’s Daughter.” Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. Originally published London: Benjamin Motte, 1726. HardPress, 2018. <https://amzn.to/460K0mA>. Ebook.

“Toward.” Middle English Compendium. University of Michigan. n.d. Accessed 30 Oct 2023. <https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED46608>.

“Toward.” Wiktionary.com. 2 Oct 2023. Accessed 30 Oct 2023. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/toward#Adjective>.

Wimbledon, Robert. Wimbledon’s Sermon ‘Redde rationem villicationis tue’: a Middle English Sermon of the Fourteenth Century. Originally published 1387? <https://books.google.com/books/about/Wimbledon_s_sermon_Redde_rationem_villic.html>. Print.

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