Definition of froward
1
:habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
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frowardly
adverb
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Examples of froward in a Sentence
their froward pranks are not appropriate in the workplace
froward students sent to the office for chronic disciplinary problems
Did You Know?
Once upon a time, in the days of Middle English, froward and toward were opposites. Froward meant "moving or facing away from something or someone;" toward meant "moving or facing in the direction of something or someone." (The suffix -ward is from Old English -weard, meaning "moving, tending, facing.") Froward also meant "difficult to deal with, perverse"; toward meant "willing, compliant, obliging." Each went its own way in the end: froward lost its "away from" sense as long ago as the 16th century and the "willing" sense of toward disappeared in the 18th century. A third relative, untoward, developed in the 15th century as a synonym for froward in its "unruly or intractable" sense, and later developed other meanings, including "improper or indecorous."
Origin and Etymology of froward
Middle English, turned away, froward, from fro from + -ward -ward
froward Synonyms
Synonyms
bad, contrary, errant, naughty, misbehaving, mischievousAntonyms
behaved, behaving, nice, orderlyRelated Words
defiant, disrespectful, ill-mannered, ill-natured, impolite, improper, impudent, indecorous, insolent, rude, uncouth, unmannerly; disobedient, headstrong, intractable, obstreperous, recalcitrant, refractory, transgressing, unruly, untoward, willful (or wilful); balky, restive, uncontrollable, ungovernable, wayward, wild; arch, elfish, impish, knavish, monkeying, monkeyish, ornery, pixieish, prankish, rascally, roguish, waggish; dissolute, perverse, wrongheaded; disorderly, rowdy, ruffianly; corrupt, evil, wicked; insurgent, mutinous, rebellious; disobliging, inconsiderate, selfish, thoughtless, unkind, unkindly; babyish, childish, immature, infantile, jejune, juvenile, kiddish, puerileNear Antonyms
acquiescent, compliant, complying, dutiful, obedient, submissive; clean, correct, decent, decorous, moral, proper, respectable; considerate, courteous, kindly, mannerly, polite, thoughtful; angelic (or angelical), cherubic, divine, heavenly; amenable, docile, governable, tractable; amiable, complaisant, good-natured, obliging, pleasant; discreet, modest; adult, grown-up, matureLearn More about froward
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for froward
Seen and Heard
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