willful
Americanadjective
-
deliberate, voluntary, or intentional.
The coroner ruled the death willful murder.
- Synonyms:
- volitional;
-
unreasonably stubborn or headstrong; self-willed.
- Synonyms:
- adamant, obdurate, inflexible, pigheaded, refractory, contrary, intransigent
adjective
Related Words
Willful, headstrong, perverse, wayward refer to one who stubbornly insists upon doing as they please. Willful suggests a stubborn persistence in doing what one wishes, especially in opposition to those whose wishes or commands ought to be respected or obeyed: that willful child who disregarded his parents' advice. One who is headstrong is often foolishly, and sometimes violently, self-willed: reckless and headstrong youths. The perverse person is unreasonably or obstinately intractable or contrary, often with the express intention of being disagreeable: perverse out of sheer spite. Wayward in this sense has the connotation of rash wrongheadedness that gets one into trouble: a reform school for wayward teens.
Other Word Forms
- half-willful adjective
- half-willfulness noun
- unwillful adjective
- unwillfulness noun
- willfully adverb
- willfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of willful
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; Old English wilful “willing”; will 2, -ful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jurors convicted Goldstein on 12 of the 16 counts against him, including tax evasion, willful failure to timely pay taxes and lying to mortgage lenders.
According to the suit, the disclosure of tax-return forms “was either willful or a result of gross negligence.”
From MarketWatch
According to the suit, the disclosure of tax-return forms “was either willful or a result of gross negligence.”
From MarketWatch
Video footage of his killing taken from multiple angles shows this to be a willful lie.
From Salon
“There’s been no evidence presented that Mr. Price acted with any wrongful intent. No testimony from any witness … who said Mr. Price acted with willful intent,” Schafler said Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
