1
: following one's own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations : ungovernable
a wayward child
2
: following no clear principle or law : unpredictable
3
: opposite to what is desired or expected : untoward
wayward fate
waywardly
adverb
waywardness
noun
Examples of wayward in a Sentence
parents of a wayward teenager
had always been the most wayward of their three children
Recent Examples on the Web
The battle between parents and wayward children is the archetypal plot of modernization.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
By this point, there’s no need to rehash its difficult production: What matters is what’s on the screen, a tale of how a wayward son (Al Pacino) discovers that his mild refutations of his family’s dark business are ultimately just talk.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
His influence, particularly among wayward young men, is outsized, as video platforms like TikTok ballooned in uses and hours spent on site over the past several years.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2025
And so this novel, finally too pleasing and affirming for readers who are rightly worried about political violence and radicalized youth, ends with a dignified old man envisioning a stable, cosmopolitan future for a wayward young girl.
—Randy Boyagoda, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wayward
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Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
By this point, there’s no need to rehash its difficult production: What matters is what’s on the screen, a tale of how a wayward son (Al Pacino) discovers that his mild refutations of his family’s dark business are ultimately just talk.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
His influence, particularly among wayward young men, is outsized, as video platforms like TikTok ballooned in uses and hours spent on site over the past several years.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2025
And so this novel, finally too pleasing and affirming for readers who are rightly worried about political violence and radicalized youth, ends with a dignified old man envisioning a stable, cosmopolitan future for a wayward young girl.
—Randy Boyagoda, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wayward
Cite this Entry
“Wayward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wayward. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wayward
adjective
way·ward
ˈwā-wərd 
1
: tending to do as one pleases : disobedient
wayward children
2
: not following a rule or regular course of action
waywardly
adverb
waywardness
noun
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