For centuries, toward was used for "forward-moving" youngsters, the kind who showed promise and were open to listening to their elders. The adjective then came to mean "obliging." The opposite of this toward is froward, meaning "disobedient." Froward has fallen out of common use, and the cooperative sense of toward is obsolete, but untoward is still moving forward.
There was nothing untoward about his appearance. tried to reason with the untoward child
Recent Examples on the WebUnseen in the show is a 1982 incident in which Atlas put a gun to Tyson’s head after the teenage boxer did something untoward to Atlas’ 12-year-old sister-in-law, as David Remnick later reported for the New Yorker. Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Aug. 2022 In the present, a misfit pair of half-brothers (Brian Gleeson and Daryl McCormack) must prove something untoward happened to him in a desperate effort to salvage their family insurance business. Stuart Miller, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 There was never anything untoward or romantic or stuff like that, but there was a great deal of mutual respect and friendship that lasted forever. Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 9 Aug. 2022 This was intended to try and keep the app from verging into a potentially untoward territory. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 July 2022 Assume for sake of discussion in this particular scenario that the person has something untoward in mind. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 25 July 2022 And, of course, NASA wants to make sure its brand isn't used for any untoward purposes, such as in a way that suggests that NASA endorses a company or product. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 23 July 2022 Going after drag culture provides cover under the argument that drag queens reading to children is inappropriate or untoward. Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 13 June 2022 Unfortunately, any medical intervention runs the risk of causing an untoward effect. Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 2 June 2022 See More