Nearby Words

willful

[wil-fuhl] Example Sentences Origin

will·ful

[wil-fuhl]
adjective
1.
deliberate, voluntary, or intentional: The coroner ruled the death willful murder.
2.
unreasonably stubborn or headstrong; self-willed.
Also, wilful.


Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English; Old English wilful willing. See will2, -ful

will·ful·ly, adverb
will·ful·ness, noun
half-will·ful, adjective
half-will·ful·ly, adverb
half-will·ful·ness, noun
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un·will·ful, adjective
un·will·ful·ly, adverb
un·will·ful·ness, noun
COLLAPSE


1. volitional. 2. intransigent; contrary, refractory, pigheaded, inflexible, obdurate, adamant. Willful, headstrong, perverse, wayward refer to one who stubbornly insists upon doing as he or she pleases. Willful suggests a stubborn persistence in doing what one wishes, especially in opposition to those whose wishes or commands ought to be respected or obeyed: that willful child who disregarded his parents' advice. One who is headstrong is often foolishly, and sometimes violently, self-willed: reckless and headstrong youths. The perverse person is unreasonably or obstinately intractable or contrary, often with the express intention of being disagreeable: perverse out of sheer spite. Wayward in this sense has the connotation of rash wrongheadedness that gets one into trouble: a reform school for wayward girls.


2. obedient, tractable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Willful is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Example Sentences
  • Many charges of willful violations involve the exposure of workers to hazardous levels of lead and arsenic.
  • Ignorance is one thing, but willful disregard for appropriate underpant procedure is not to be tolerated alastrina.
  • It seems to require willful blindness to what's actually happening in technology.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
wilful or willful (ˈwɪlfʊl)
 
adj
1.  intent on having one's own way; headstrong or obstinate
2.  intentional: wilful murder
 
willful or willful
 
adj
 
'wilfully or willful
 
adv
 
'willfully or willful
 
adv
 
'wilfulness or willful
 
n
 
'willfulness or willful
 
n

willful (ˈwɪlfʊl)
 
adj
the US spelling of wilful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

willful
c.1200, "strong-willed," from will (n.) + -ful. Willfully is late O.E. wilfullice "of one's own free will, voluntarily;" bad sense of "on purpose" is attested from late 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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