How to Use willful in a Sentence

willful

adjective
Definition of willfulnext
Synonyms for willfulnext
  • He has shown a willful disregard for other people's feelings.
  • Most of the non-willful fines were in the hundreds of dollars.
    — oregonlive, 20 Apr. 2022
  • At the top of this list might well be his willful destruction of the Russian Army.
    — Michael Krepon, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
  • That was the first act of Tulsa’s willful forgetting: to bury the truth of what had happened.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021
  • This season focuses on the willful delusion of the wealthy.
    — Lauren Jackson, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2022
  • Her mother, 70, was booked on three counts of torture and three counts of willful cruelty to a child.
    — Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2022
  • The greed and willful blindness must be laid at the feet of his investors and financial partners.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2021
  • In effect, the public was dragged from willful ignorance by the truth.
    — The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2021
  • Mayorkas, 64, faced two charges from the House: willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
    — Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Adella Tom was booked on three counts each of torture and willful cruelty to a child.
    — Gina Martinez, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2022
  • And so there's a willful destructiveness as much as there is a very strong creative urge in her.
    — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Mayorkas, 64, now faces two charges from the House: willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
    — Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
  • If the violation can be proved to be knowing or willful the amount is tripled.
    — Peter J Reilly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
  • One was unruly, willful and disobedient, and the other was calm and easy to be around.
    — Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Both are charged with murder and willful harming of a child, according to jail records.
    — Fox News, 12 Nov. 2021
  • But the willful swirl and the withholding of coherence are too extreme here.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2021
  • Leda observes Nina on the beach with her young daughter, who seems willful and moody.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 5 Sep. 2021
  • So be aware that the concept of willful endangerment could put you over that limit.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024
  • So this willful denial of what movies actually are has set in.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 17 July 2023
  • If a jury finds that Equifax's error was willful, the company could be on the hook for up to $1,000 more in damages for each defendant.
    — Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2022
  • Putin’s key delusion is his willful failure to understand—and accept—how Ukraine has come to be.
    — Tarik Cyril Amar, Time, 4 Mar. 2022
  • The continued embrace was a willful act by a public all too eager to dole out second and third chances to a winner.
    — Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2021
  • Students often don't show up for reasons that aren't willful: Some struggle with getting a ride to school.
    — Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 17 Nov. 2021
  • Her fascination with these objects didn’t strike me as sad, or clingy, but as willful.
    — Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 14 July 2021
  • The rest of the face-off continues to ignore the production strings at hand, giving it an air of willful ignorance.
    — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 10 Aug. 2021
  • Amid all these victories, there has been a ton of failure, error, and sheer willful stupidity over the past year and a half.
    — Ryan Cooper, The Week, 2 Nov. 2021
  • Hasn’t willful ignorance gotten us into these doomy problems in the first place?
    — Stephanie Hayes, Sun Sentinel, 13 Sep. 2022
  • Some of the most esteemed long-distance trails in recent years have been built by willful enthusiasts.
    — New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022
  • There are so many annoying human behaviors — willful ignorance has topped my personal list the last eight years or so — but hypocrisy has to be among the worst.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Is this willful obstruction, or is Schütte really just a formalist at heart?
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 8 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'willful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: