froward

¹ American  

[froh-werd, froh-erd] / ˈfroʊ wərd, ˈfroʊ ərd /

adjective

1. willfully contrary; not easily managed.

   to be worried about one's froward, intractable child.

   Synonyms:

   difficult, unmanageable, wayward, fractious, disobedient, willful, obstinate

   Antonyms:

   tractable, docile

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Froward ² American  

[froh-werd, froh-erd] / ˈfroʊ wərd, ˈfroʊ ərd /

noun

1. Cape, a cape in S Chile, on the Strait of Magellan: southernmost point of mainland South America.

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froward British  

/ ˈfrəʊəd /

adjective

1. archaic obstinate; contrary

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Other Word Forms

• frowardly adverb
• frowardness noun
• unfroward adjective
• unfrowardly adverb

Etymology

Origin of froward

First recorded in 1150–1200, froward is from the Middle English word froward, fraward. See fro, -ward

Explanation

Froward means willful and disobedient. If your dog sits when you call her to come and runs away when you tell her to sit, you can say she's froward. The adverb froward is an old-fashioned way to describe someone who's difficult and ornery. It's a lot more fun to babysit agreeable kids than froward ones. New teachers have nightmares about classes full of froward students and are relieved to find pleasant and polite ones on the first day of school. The Old English root of froward is frāward, "turning away from," or the opposite of toward.

Example Sentences

Two of them — 6-2 froward Autumn Newby from Baylor and 5-6 guard Alexis Morris from Texas A&M — are starters.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2022

“Before we were stepping froward, now we’re stepping back,” a supporter named Katherine King told me.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 9, 2016

The biography of Moreton Frewen, Winston Churchill's froward uncle and a born loser who went from one financial debacle to another with style, imagination and diligence.

From Time Magazine Archive

He changed Poseidon, Girdler of the Earth, to Earthshaker Poseidon, called the Cyclops "Goggle-eyes" instead of "froward," transformed the "fair-tressed Dawn" into "welcome streaks of light."

From Time Magazine Archive

Forbear, fond maid, that froward step to take, For life can cure the ills that love may make; But for the harm of death is no repair.'

From The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges by Bridges, Robert