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Glite Dictionary
⬆️ To a higher level ⏩ From a point on
upwards

upwards

81 1.0
Moves toward a higher place, level, or amount
  • adverb
  • /ˈʌp.wɚdz/
: hacia arriba
  • The balloon floated upwards into the sky, disappearing from view.
  • point upwards
  • gaze upwards
  • move upwards

And I just start from my jawline and I go upwards towards like my ear around here.

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Examples

  • Finally, when flying, wings deflect upwards due to the upwards lift force they create.

  • Some campuses have upwards of 500 student organizations with membership in the tens of thousands.

    Academic text (2004)

  • It's moving upwards this time.

    In Her Line of Fire (2006)

  • Then they find themselves being carried against their will upwards by the light, through a wall or window.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Inside, you must look upwards.

    The Brutalist (2024)

  • The old daughter looked upwards, while her blind mother looked down at the steps.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • We have little muscles that are pumping blood upwards towards the head.

  • Study participants took upwards of 10 seconds to complete the entire 100-mL task.

    Academic text (2011)

  • It's the worst damage the site has seen in years, and cleanup may cost upwards of $10,000.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The path leads upwards.

    The Suckling (1990)

Synonyms

up
vsupwards
∞ 1.0

In a higher place or moving to a higher level

focuses on movement toward higher levels or amounts more generally
upward
vsupwards
84 1.3

In a higher direction

is identical in meaning but differs mainly by word form
skyward
vsupwards
1 3.2

Pointing or moving up toward the sky

expresses general movement toward higher positions or amounts, not sky only

Antonyms

downwards
11 1.0

Toward a lower place, level, or position

Idioms

onwards and upwards
  • Informal
5 4.6

Shows that things get better after hard times

How High

skyward
12 3.2
upwards
81 1.0
horizontally
23 3.2
downwards
11 1.0

Surface Forms

upwards positive
upward positive

Morphology

upwards = (transparent) = up + wards

The meaning is directly derived from 'up' (higher) plus the directional suffix '-wards', yielding movement toward a higher position. [Postprocessing: moved 'up' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Upwards is simply up + -wards, where up means 'toward a higher place' and -wards means 'toward', just like in homeward. So upwards means moving or pointing 'toward' something higher, which is why we say a balloon drifted upwards or someone moved upwards in a job.