willful

American  

[wil-fuhl] / ˈwɪl fəl /

Or wilful

adjective

1. deliberate, voluntary, or intentional.

   The coroner ruled the death willful murder.

   Synonyms:

   volitional;

2. unreasonably stubborn or headstrong; self-willed.

   Synonyms:

   adamant, obdurate, inflexible, pigheaded, refractory, contrary, intransigent

   Antonyms:

   tractable, obedient

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willful British  

/ ˈwɪlfʊl /

adjective

1. the US spelling of wilful

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Synonym Usage

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-willfulness
  noun
• unwillfulness
  noun
• willfulness
  noun
• half-willful
  adjective
• unwillful
  adjective
• willfully
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of willful

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; Old English wilful “willing”; see will ², -ful

Explanation

Willful means "deliberate" or "stubborn." A child who exhibits willful disobedience knows she is doing something wrong (even if she tries to convince you otherwise). While being full of will, or determination, doesn’t necessarily seem like a bad thing, the word willful is negative in meaning. Use it when someone is behaving in a stubborn or uncooperative manner. To describe someone who possesses dedication or perseverance in a positive sense, consider determined, driven, or decisive — and that’s just the d's!

Example Sentences

It also has threatened to suspend State Farm’s license over the alleged violations, which each carry a penalty of up to $5,000 — or twice that figure if found to be willful.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

The narrative possibilities of willful forgetting allow Balda’s wool-clad characters to extend themselves far past the boundaries of George’s field and into the hearts of younger and older viewers alike.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

Mr. Cain convincingly proves his central thesis: that Jobs’s years at NeXT were the crucible that transformed him from willful brat to seasoned leader.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

It reasoned that the willful withholding of the mail goes far beyond “loss” and “miscarriage” and may therefore serve as grounds for a lawsuit.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

Unlike Burr’s distinguished bloodline, which gave his aristocratic bearing its roots and biological rationale, Hamilton’s more dashing and consistently audacious style developed as a willful personal wager against the odds of his impoverished origins.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• conscious
• deliberate
• intentional
• premeditated
• purposeful
• willed