wayward

adjective

way·​ward ˈwā-wərd 

1

: following one's own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations : ungovernable

a wayward child

2

: following no clear principle or law : unpredictable

3

: opposite to what is desired or expected : untoward

wayward fate

waywardly adverb

waywardness noun

Synonyms

• balky
• contrary
• contumacious
• defiant
• disobedient
• froward
• incompliant
• insubordinate
• intractable
• obstreperous
• rebel
• rebellious
• recalcitrant
• recusant
• refractory
• restive
• ungovernable
• unruly
• untoward
• willful
• wilful

Choose the Right Synonym for wayward

contrary, perverse, restive, balky, wayward mean inclined to resist authority or control.

contrary implies a temperamental unwillingness to accept orders or advice.

a contrary child

perverse may imply wrongheaded, determined, or cranky opposition to what is reasonable or normal.

a perverse, intractable critic

restive suggests unwillingness or inability to submit to discipline or follow orders.

tired soldiers growing restive

balky suggests a refusing to proceed in a desired direction or course of action.

a balky witness

wayward suggests strong-willed capriciousness and irregularity in behavior.

a school for wayward youths

Examples of wayward in a Sentence

parents of a wayward teenager

had always been the most wayward of their three children

Recent Examples on the Web

Margaret, it is hoped, will be able to connect to the wayward generation currently protesting in the streets. —Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024

Scott, at his most creepy and conniving, plays Tom Ripley, a low-rent con artist in New York in the 1960s who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when a rich shipping magnate employs him to convince the man's wayward heir to come home and stop gallivanting across Italy. —Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Those qualities somewhat eclipse the central question of the wayward young granddaughter, which primarily serves as an excuse to watch Sugar work – sifting through sleazy, Hollywood-style dirty laundry – without really needing to drive the narrative. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

On either side, shifting sandbars waited to chew up and spit out wayward traders, nationality be damned. —Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

Morrison has instituted healthier pruning practices and spread wood chips near the trees to protect them from wayward maintenance workers. —Harry Stevens, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024

However, instead of finding the world’s tallest bird, the arriving deputy discovered the wayward emu, which, according to the Denver Zoo, is the second-largest flightless bird in the world. —Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2024

Barbie Fashionistas Playset Ultimate Closet There are few things as painful as stepping on a wayward Barbie shoe. —Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 4 Mar. 2024

The year is 1834, the location is Duluth, Minnesota, where a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect at a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. —The Arizona Republic, 4 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, short for awayward turned away, from away, adverb + -ward

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wayward

adjective

way·​ward ˈwā-wərd 

1

: tending to do as one pleases : disobedient

wayward children

2

: not following a rule or regular course of action

waywardly adverb

waywardness noun