anterior vs rearward

anterior

adj
  • Nearer the forward end, especially in the front of the body; nearer the head or forepart of an animal. 

  • Pronounced with an obstruction located in front of the palato-alveolar region of the mouth, e.g. b, p, d, t. 

  • (of a part of a flower or leaf) Situated further away from the mainstem. 

  • Coming before or earlier in time or development, prior to, preceding. 

rearward

adj
  • Toward the back or rear of something. 

noun
  • The last troop; the rear of an army; a rear guard. 

  • The part that comes last or is situated in the rear; conclusion, wind-up. 

adv
  • Toward the back or rear of something. 

How often have the words anterior and rearward occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )