What does westwardly mean?
Westwardly is an uncommon English adjective and adverb meaning toward the west. As an adverb, it describes an action or movement in that direction: the travelers rode westwardly toward the coast. As an adjective, it characterizes something directed or oriented westward, such as a ship's westwardly course. The word has a literary and slightly old-fashioned quality, giving ordinary geographical descriptions a formal or poetic tone. Modern prose generally uses westward, west, or toward the west instead, although westwardly remains useful when a writer wants an explicitly directional adverb or adjective. Its unusual ending can make it memorable, but it is not appropriate for routine communication. Westwardly belongs to a family of English forms built from west and the related terms westward, westerly, and western, all of which share the same basic geographic sense.
Directed toward or oriented toward the west.
"The plane maintained a westwardly heading."
Chiefly literary; westward is more common in neutral contexts.
Toward or in the direction of the west.
"The procession moved westwardly along the valley."
Chiefly literary and somewhat old-fashioned.
Westwardly is a compass in a word: it points the ear toward the setting sun.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does westwardly come from?
Westwardly is an English formation based on westward, with the ending -ly producing an adverbial form that also occurs in adjectival use. Westward combines the English word west with the Old English suffix -ward, while west is inherited from Old English. The resulting word is now chiefly literary rather than part of everyday standard usage.
How westwardly is actually used
Westwardly is literary, poetic, and uncommon in everyday English. In neutral prose, westward, west, or toward the west is usually more appropriate.
Easily confused with westwardly
Both indicate a direction toward the west, but westward is the much more common neutral term, while westwardly is chiefly literary and often emphasizes movement or orientation in that direction.