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froward

[froh-werd, froh-erd]
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adjective
  1. willfully contrary; not easily managed: to be worried about one's froward, intractable child.
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Origin of froward

First recorded in 1150–1200, froward is from the Middle English word froward, fraward. See fro, -ward
Related formsfro·ward·ly, adverbfro·ward·ness, nounun·fro·ward, adjectiveun·fro·ward·ly, adverb
Can be confusedforeword forward forwards froward

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

docile, tractable.

Froward

[froh-werd, froh-erd]
noun
  1. Cape, a cape in S Chile, on the Strait of Magellan: southernmost point of mainland South America.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

adversebalkycontrarycrossdisobedientheadstrongobstinatepeevishperversepetulantrefractorystubbornunfavorableuntowardunyielding

Examples from the Web for froward

Historical Examples

  • You permit your heart (little did I think it was such a froward one) to recoil.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • Another trouble is occasioned by the froward behavior of flowers.

  • "Speak on," said Hilda, calmly, as a nurse to a froward child.

    Harold, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • Who is this froward youth, with his loud and boisterous voice?

  • But be not froward because of a first success, nor hope too much from a royal smile.

    Sea-Dogs All!

    Tom Bevan

British Dictionary definitions for froward

froward

adjective
  1. archaic obstinate; contrary
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Derived Formsfrowardly, adverbfrowardness, noun

Word Origin

C14: see fro, -ward
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for froward

adv.

Old English fromweard "turned from or away," from from + -weard (see -ward). Opposite of toward, it renders Latin pervertus in early translations of the Psalms, and also meant "about to depart, departing," and "doomed to die." Related: Frowardly; frowardness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper