wilful

[ wil-fuhl ]

/ ˈwɪl fəl /

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Definition of wilful

adjective

willful.

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OTHER WORDS FROM wilful

wil·ful·ly, adverbwil·ful·ness, nounun·wil·ful, adjectiveun·wil·ful·ly, adverb

un·wil·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby wilful

wildwood, wild yam, wile, Wilfred, Wilfrid, wilful, wilga, Wilhelm, Wilhelm I, Wilhelm II, Wilhelmina

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wilful in a sentence

Observe the wayward boy whose chief inheritance is a wild, wilful nature.
The value of a praying mother|Isabel C. Byrum
Seized of that wilful, daring spirit called Love, her sight was bounded by the little field where she strayed.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete|Gilbert Parker
Eric rose, and resolutely tried to mount the rigging, determined at least to give no ground he could help to their wilful cruelty.
Eric, or Little by Little|Frederic W. Farrar
Mistress Margery Wimpole was a poor, dull creature, having no wilful harm in her, but endowed with neither dignity nor wit.
A Lady of Quality|Frances Hodgson Burnett

A nature passionate, wilful—hardly good-tempered, hardly very clever, but gifted—was expressed in every feature.
Dream Tales and Prose Poems|Ivan Turgenev

British Dictionary definitions for wilful

wilful

US willful

/ (ˈwɪlfʊl) /

adjective

intent on having one's own way; headstrong or obstinate

intentionalwilful murder

Derived forms of wilful

wilfully or US willfully, adverbwilfulness or US willfulness, noun

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