variants
or wilful
1
as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
a particularly willful horse that took weeks to break to saddle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uncontrollable
given to resisting control or discipline by others
finally the parents sought professional counseling for the willful child
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arrogant
having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity
a willful disregard for the rights of others
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in deliberate
made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing
a willful attempt to cheat her siblings out of their rightful inheritance
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5
as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
the kind of willful person who can never bring himself to admit that he made a mistake
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of willful
Lies that constitute willful and harmful ignorance.
—
Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
My headlong descent had much more to do with a willful and heedless pursuit of hedonism.
—Rachel Desantis, People.com, 30 Jan. 2025
On March 19, 2024, Huger was charged with a DUI and DWI on the counts of: negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, endangering property, life, and person, as well as recklessly driving a vehicle in wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons and property.
—Gabriela Silva, TVLine, 26 Feb. 2025
These misguided concerns are due to a willful ignorance of how and why the city is proposing to structure the payments.
—Pat Dowell, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willful
Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
My headlong descent had much more to do with a willful and heedless pursuit of hedonism.
—Rachel Desantis, People.com, 30 Jan. 2025
On March 19, 2024, Huger was charged with a DUI and DWI on the counts of: negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, endangering property, life, and person, as well as recklessly driving a vehicle in wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons and property.
—Gabriela Silva, TVLine, 26 Feb. 2025
These misguided concerns are due to a willful ignorance of how and why the city is proposing to structure the payments.
—Pat Dowell, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willful
Adjective
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On Wednesday, March 12, The Kardashians star was joined by her mother Kris Jenner for the latest episode of her Khloé in Wonderland podcast, where the two looked back at some of Khloé's rebellious childhood moments.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
12 Mar. 2025
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Mickey, tasked with keeping her rebellious sister in line, never had the opportunity to be a kid.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Separating benefits from employee health also allows businesses to escape uncontrollable, often double-digit, group plan renewals.—
Jack Hooper,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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So this kind of parallel can easily be drawn between Iran and other countries, [including those with] an arrogant isolation program, definitely.—
Georg Szalai,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2025
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One of the targets of his reign of terror is arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen, played by Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush admitted to the facility after being left partially paralyzed after a stroke.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Learn about your members and make deliberate introductions.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
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But the shift was partly produced by deliberate changes to the rules, which were designed to ward off the darker side of teen glory.—
Louisa Thomas,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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One daughter, loving but stubborn, leaves for Vilna to study nursing.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
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The true top is still stubborn, though: In 2023 women made up just over 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 9% of the FTSE CEOs, and 5.4% of CEOs of the S&P Global Broad Market Index.—
Kweilin Ellingrud,
TIME,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Their bleeding champion — at the time a former and future president — raises a defiant fist.—
John Scott Lewinski,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
14 Mar. 2025
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After being yelled at, children often feel defiant, defensive, and disconnected from their parent.—
Daryl Austin,
Parents,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Water signs may relate closely to wise and opinionated Owl while Earth signs may relate to the reserved and — sometimes gloomy — Eeyore.—
Athena Sobhan,
People.com,
18 Jan. 2025
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Finebaum, a former newspaper columnist who moved to Charlotte in 2013, is its opinionated star.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The user is urged to visit a website and pay an arbitrary toll amount to avoid a $50 fine.—
Dan Avery,
CNBC,
17 Mar. 2025
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His morning rants and arbitrary policies only harm the economy.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
16 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Willful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willful. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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