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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective wayward contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of wayward are balky, contrary, perverse, and restive. While all these words mean "inclined to resist authority or control," wayward suggests strong-willed capriciousness and irregularity in behavior.

a school for wayward youths

When can balky be used instead of wayward?

The synonyms balky and wayward are sometimes interchangeable, but balky suggests a refusing to proceed in a desired direction or course of action.

a balky witness

When would contrary be a good substitute for wayward?

The meanings of contrary and wayward largely overlap; however, contrary implies a temperamental unwillingness to accept orders or advice.

a contrary child

When might perverse be a better fit than wayward?

While the synonyms perverse and wayward are close in meaning, perverse may imply wrongheaded, determined, or cranky opposition to what is reasonable or normal.

a perverse, intractable critic

In what contexts can restive take the place of wayward?

The words restive and wayward are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, restive suggests unwillingness or inability to submit to discipline or follow orders.

tired soldiers growing restive

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wayward For years, European leaders have fretted about reducing their dependence on a wayward United States. Mark Landler, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025 The shorts, led by some wayward sell-side analysts, didn’t realize that Noto is turning this into one of the sainted fintechs out there, like a Block (formerly Square) or a PayPal or an Affirm . Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2025 An unruly pack of wayward youths got a hard lesson in humility, courtesy of a police program that introduced them to a pair of tough-talking convicts played by Kenan Thompson and Eddie Murphy. Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 16 Feb. 2025 The new film follows the young Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) after an accidental separation from his parents, when a spirited cub named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) saves the wayward lion’s life. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for wayward
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wayward
Adjective
  • In addition, parents who are too strict might even end up with kids who are extra rebellious.
    Taylor Grothe, Parents, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Boon will play Eddie Harrigan, Kevin’s rebellious son.
    Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Another type of hyperpigmentation that kojic acid can help with is melasma—a stubborn and hard-to-treat skin condition characterized by splotchy, brown or grayish patches.
    Jenna Ryu, SELF, 4 Mar. 2025
  • But four months after becoming the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote, Trump faces a new reality of needing to tackle some of the most stubborn challenges awaiting any new president and deliver on his campaign promises to lower prices.
    CNN.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The attacks started this week after reports emerged that Assad loyalists had ambushed and killed members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – the rebel group that spearheaded the rebellion that ousted the former Syrian leader.
    Mostafa Salem, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The singer and the songwriter traversed the frontlines of the urban guerrilla war that had consumed the city of Homs by that point, with one half of the city overtaken by regime soldiers and the other half controlled by rebel groups.
    Jawad Rizkallah, NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • President Donald Trump took a defiant victory lap in the House chamber on Tuesday night, using his address to a joint session of Congress to promote the flurry of drastic changes to domestic and foreign policy that his administration has made in just the first six weeks.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Trump, in a defiant victory lap speech lasting roughly 100 minutes, credited his predecessor for high inflation and vowed to bring down the costs of everyday goods while previewing further economic pain from new tariffs.
    Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But Mayhem is about using music as archeology to excavate unruly parts of one’s own identity.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
  • The eight-episode Season 1 of The Franchise followed the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Or does so only briefly in the ambiguous ending, when Sofia throws off the last vestiges of her passivity and forces her recalcitrant mother into a reckoning with her condition.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025
  • In an interview from a factory floor in El Salvador on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that foreign aid spending does not support U.S. aims and that USAID, the main conduit for foreign assistance, has been recalcitrant.
    ByCatherine Offord, science.org, 5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Joking was her version of uncontrollable tears, but Dr. Fenton neither laughed nor pressed to see what was behind Lilian’s inane laughter.
    Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Separating benefits from employee health also allows businesses to escape uncontrollable, often double-digit, group plan renewals.
    Jack Hooper, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Part of this containment strategy is to stop Chinese company transshipments through Canada and Mexico from engaging in willful U.S. tariff evasion.
    Jason Schenker, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Beyond market returns: Time and consistency are essential Given the willful chaos and uncertainty being generated by the Trump administration, there is no telling what the markets and the US economy will do in the foreseeable future.
    Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wayward.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wayward. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.

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