sunward

1 of 2

adverb

sun·​ward ˈsən-wərd How to pronounce sunward (audio)
variants or sunwards
: toward the sun

sunward

2 of 2

adjective

: facing the sun

Examples of sunward in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adverb
Turtles, snakes and voles stretch sunward after months of subterranean winter. New York Times, 23 Apr. 2018
Adjective
That’s because, like Earth, its spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbit around the sun, so the hemisphere tilted sunward changes, causing seasons. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024 How exactly Earth’s sunward sister world went so far astray is one of the greatest mysteries of planetary science—and a potential keystone for astrobiology. Leonard David, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2023 As the comet continued its sunward voyage and absorbed more energy from our star, its trailing tail of escaping gas and dust correspondingly grew. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2023 This occurred in both Pioneers, manifesting as a sunward acceleration of 8.74 ± 1.33 × 10−10 m/s2. Doug Adler, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2018 The Hubble images captured an energetic geyser, almost 2,500 miles high (4,000 kilometers), shooting out from the sunward side of the comet. Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2013 In that sense, the sunward journey of Comet ISON is a homecoming after a long exile. Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2013 Propulsion systems and solar panels would go on the sunward side, and the optics and instruments, which must operate below minus 223 degrees Celsius, would huddle on the dark side. Quanta Magazine, 3 Dec. 2021 The temperature on the bottom layer--the most sunward side--will reach about 185°F, not far from the boiling point of water. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 June 2017

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

1633, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1743, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sunward was in 1633

Dictionary Entries Near sunward

Cite this Entry

“Sunward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sunward. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

sunward

1 of 2 adverb
sun·​ward ˈsən-wərd How to pronounce sunward (audio)
: toward the sun
the planet tilted sunward

sunward

2 of 2 adjective
: facing the sun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!