wayward

[wey-werd]

adjective

1. turned or turning away from what is right or proper; willful; disobedient.

   a wayward son; wayward behavior.

   Synonyms: intractable, refractory, unruly, obstinate, stubborn, headstrong, contrary

2. swayed or prompted by caprice; capricious.

   a wayward impulse; to be wayward in one's affections.

3. turning or changing irregularly; irregular.

   a wayward breeze.

   Synonyms: changeable, inconstant, unsteady

wayward

/ ˈweɪwəd /

adjective

1. wanting to have one's own way regardless of the wishes or good of others

2. capricious, erratic, or unpredictable

Other Word Forms

• waywardly adverb
• waywardness noun
• unwayward adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wayward¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of awayward. See away, -ward

Word History and Origins

Origin of wayward¹

C14: changed from awayward turned or turning away

Synonym Study

See willful.

Example Sentences

The Egyptian's shooting was also wild and wayward when he carved out shooting chances later in the half, his head bowed in disappointment at his own efforts.

From BBC

Swift opens her track with: “When I found you, you were young, wayward, lost in the cold / Pulled up to you in the Jag’, turned your rags to gold.”

From Los Angeles Times

A self-described wayward teen themself, they had their own friend taken away and shipped off to a version of Tall Pines.

From Los Angeles Times

I loved his wayward, almost naive approach to conversation — “I ask dumb,” he said — which could produce interesting results that might elude better prepared interviewers.

From Los Angeles Times

He bowled one of the most wayward spells in recent memory in the first innings at The Oval but England will focus on the positives, such as his five-wicket haul in the second.

From BBC

Related Words

• capricious 
• delinquent 
• errant 
• erratic 
• headstrong 
• rebellious 
• recalcitrant 
• unruly