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-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”; 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

Several clubgoers expressed willful ignorance or bemusement, casting blame all around.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Attorney David Lira, 65, Girardi’s son-in-law, pleaded guilty last year to a criminal contempt charge for his willful failure to abide by the settlement payment order.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 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

Video footage of his killing taken from multiple angles shows this to be a willful lie.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026

Some people personalize events excessively, resisting an external perspective, and since numbers and an impersonal view of the world are intimately related, this resistance contributes to an almost willful innumeracy.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

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