froward

[froh-werd, froh-erd]

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adjective

willfully contrary; not easily managed: to be worried about one's froward, intractable child.

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 for froward

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

Antonyms for froward

docile, tractable.

Froward

[froh-werd, froh-erd]

noun

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for froward

adverse, balky, contrary, cross, disobedient, headstrong, obstinate, peevish, perverse, petulant, refractory, stubborn, unfavorable, untoward, unyielding

Examples from the Web for froward

Historical Examples of froward

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.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2 No 4, October, 1862
Various
"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?
Forgotten Tales of Long Ago
E. V. Lucas
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

archaic obstinate; contrary

Derived Formsfrowardly, adverbfrowardness, noun

Word Origin for froward

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.