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wayward

 - 3 dictionary results

way⋅ward

  [wey-werd]
Use wayward in a Sentence
–adjective
1. turned or turning away from what is right or proper; willful; disobedient: a wayward son; wayward behavior.
2. swayed or prompted by caprice; capricious: a wayward impulse; to be wayward in one's affections.
3. turning or changing irregularly; irregular: a wayward breeze.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; aph. var. of awayward. See away, -ward

Related forms:
way⋅ward⋅ly, adverb
way⋅ward⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. contrary, headstrong, stubborn, obstinate, unruly, refractory, intractable. See willful. 3. unsteady, inconstant, changeable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wayward
way·ward   (wā'wərd)   
adj.  

  1. Given to or marked by willful, often perverse deviation from what is desired, expected, or required in order to gratify one's own impulses or inclinations. See Synonyms at unruly.

  2. Swayed or prompted by caprice; unpredictable.


[Middle English, short for awaiward, turned away, perverse : awai, away; see away + -ward, -ward.]
way'ward·ly adv., way'ward·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wayward 
c.1380 aphetic shortening of aweiward "turned away," from away + -ward.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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