Word.ws English Dictionary

feedforward

feedforward noun: an anticipatory response to expected changes in the environment of a system.

Noun

feedforward (countable and uncountable, plural feedforwards)

  1. An anticipatory response to expected changes in the environment of a system
    • The continuum is dynamic through the action of modulating feedbacks and feedforwards.1991, Christopher Hodgkinson, Educational Leadership: The Moral Art, →ISBN, page 96

Verb

feedforward (third-person singular simple present feedforwards, present participle feedforwarding, simple past and past participle feedforwarded)

  1. (nonstandard) To respond in advance
    • Contingency is handled by, for example, managers and nurses, through feedforwarding, that is, by acting anticipatively, and thereby raising the prospect of modifying not just the practical means toward an end, but of modifying the end itself.2002, David Beckett, Paul J. Hager, Life, Work and Learning, →ISBN, page 36
    Synonyms:
    anticipate, proact

Synonyms of feedforward

Forms of feedforward

Noun
pluralfeedforwards
alternative formfeed-forward
alternative formfeed forward
Verb
third-person singular presentfeedforwards
present participlefeedforwarding
past participlefeedforwarded
pastfeedforwarded

Origin of feedforward

From feed + forward. Formed by analogy with feedback.

Words formed from feedforward

Questions about feedforward

What does feedforward mean?
Feedforward means an anticipatory response to expected changes in the environment of a system.
What part of speech is feedforward?
Feedforward can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of feedforward?
The plural of feedforward is feedforwards.

Words near feedforward in the dictionary

  1. feeders
  2. feedest
  3. feedeth
  4. feedfest
  5. feedfests
  6. feedforward
  7. feedforward control
  8. feedforward neural network
  9. feedforwarded
  10. feedforwarding
  11. feedforwardly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: feedforward (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “feedforward.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/feedforward. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.