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Glite Dictionary
↙️ Toward southwest 🧭 A compass direction
southwestward

southwestward

2.7
The direction halfway between south and west on a compass
  • noun
  • /ˌsaʊθˈwɛstwərd/
translation icon : suroeste
  • The winds were blowing southwestward, indicating a change in the weather.

Examples

  • The explorers traveled in a southwestward direction towards the mountains.

  • She pointed to the southwestward corner of the map where they planned to settle.

  • Chief among them was the destruction of Native American settlements in the South and West, which swept away barriers to southwestward expansion.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The couple followed Penelope's father again a few years later in his southwestward Georgia-Florida migration.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Perhaps depleted Bertie County tobacco lands inspired the southwestward migration.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The countries of the Ngbandi and Ngombe lie in about the same latitude as the Gabon estuary; but since the rivers run in a southwestward direction, it would have been more likely for spears from that region to be acquired by a European on the lower Zaire.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

southwest
vssouthwestward
21 1.0

The direction halfway between south and west

is the written-out directional form used for movement or bearing
SW
vssouthwestward
10 1.0

A compass direction halfway between south and west

is the written-out directional form used in running text
sou'-west
vssouthwestward
  • Archaic
9.1

A direction halfway between south and west

is the written-out directional form rather than an older marked spelling

Antonyms

northeast
35 1.0

The direction halfway between north and east at a 45 degree angle

Surface Forms

southwestward singular
southwestwards plural

Morphology

southwestward = southwest (transparent) = south + west + ward

Built from the compound 'southwest' with the suffix '-ward' to denote the point or direction toward southwest; the composition is literal and predictable.

Etymology

Southwestward comes from south, west, and -ward meaning 'toward', and it names the compass point halfway between south and west, so it means the direction 'toward the southwest'.