-wards

-wards

suff.
Variant of -ward.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

-wards

or

-ward

suffix forming adverbs
indicating direction towards: a step backwards; to sail shorewards. Compare -ward
[Old English -weardes towards]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

-wards

var. of -ward: afterwards; towards.
[Middle English; Old English -weardes=-weard -ward + -es -s1]
usage: See -ward.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

-ward

 – -wards
1. '-wards' in adverbs

-wards is a suffix that forms adverbs showing direction. For example, if you move or look backwards, you move or look in the direction your back is facing. If you move or look northwards, you move or look towards the north.

Ryan walked forwards a couple of steps.
I looked out the window and could see eastwards as far as the distant horizon.
She stretched upwards to the cupboard above the sink.

Here are some common adverbs ending in -wards:

backwardsdownwardseastwardsforwardshomewards
inwardsnorthwardsonwardsoutwardssouthwards
upwardswestwards 

However, you can be creative and add -wards to other nouns in order to show direction. For example, if you look skywards, you look in the direction of the sky. If you move seawards, you move in the direction of the sea.

2. '-ward' in adverbs

In American English, and sometimes in British English, -ward is used instead of '-wards' to form adverbs of direction. For example, instead of saying 'He looked upwards', American speakers usually say 'He looked upward'.

I began to climb upward over the steepest ground.
They marched westward.
3. '-ward' in adjectives

In both British and American English, -ward is used to form adjectives showing direction. For example, you say 'a backward glance' and 'a homeward journey'. These adjectives are usually used in front of nouns.

There were plans for the eastward expansion of London.
His announcement was followed by silence and downward glances.
She arrived in London and started preparing for her onward journey to Paris.

Be Careful!
Both afterwards and afterward are always adverbs, not adjectives. Afterward is more common in American English.

They got married not long afterwards.
I left soon afterward.

Be Careful!
Both towards and toward are always prepositions, not adjectives or adverbs.

He saw his mother running towards him.
She glanced toward the door.
See to
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012