Utvänd

Utvänd is a Swedish adjective and adverb meaning turned outward or facing outward. The term describes orientation, indicating that the exterior side of an object is exposed. It is formed from ut, meaning outward, and vänd, the past participle of vända, to turn. As a linguistic item, utvänd can modify nouns (utvänd yta, utvänd sida) or function as an adverb indicating the direction of turning.

In practice, utvänd is most common in technical, descriptive, or design-oriented texts. It appears in fields such as textiles and garment construction to specify which side of material is intended to be visible, in anatomy and biology to describe surfaces that face outward, and in engineering or architecture when detailing exterior surfaces or outward-facing features. Because Swedish often prefers utsidan or yttre sida for everyday references to an exterior, utvänd tends to appear where a concise orientation label is preferred.

Antonyms or related concepts include inward-facing orientations, which are described with terms for inward orientation depending on context. The use of utvänd may vary regionally and across disciplines.

Examples of usage include notes on material alignment, garment assembly instructions, and technical specifications where the exterior of a component needs to be identified. In dictionary or reference works, utvänd is categorized as a descriptive orientation term rather than a commonly used everyday word.