Definition of WILLFULLY

Examples of willful in a Sentence

a stubborn and willful child
He has shown a willful disregard for other people's feelings.

Recent Examples of willful from the Web

These are smart, willful women with minds and careers of their own.

— lili anolik, HWD, "Warren Beatty, Pauline Kael, and an Epic Hollywood Mistake", 19 June 2017
And in March, Corrine Miller – the state's former director of disease control – was sentenced to probation and ordered to write an apology to residents after pleading no contest to willful neglect of duty.

— david eggert, The Christian Science Monitor, "Flint public health and safety officials charged in water contamination case", 14 June 2017
Winner was indicted by a grand jury on one count of willful retention and transmission of national defense information earlier Wednesday, according to court documents.

— daniella silva, NBC News, "Alleged NSA Leaker May Have Had Plans to Release More Classified Information, Federal Prosecutors Say", 8 June 2017
Trump needs to understand that a willful and skillful mediator is critical, but much more important are partners willing to make decisions that allow a third party to bridge gaps.

— aaron david miller, CNN, "America's half century of failure in the Middle East", 3 June 2017
The really peculiar thing about that level of willful ignorance is how the administration casually talks around African issues and problems, even when the president is in close geographic or rhetorical proximity to them.

— charles d. ellison, The Root, "It’s No Surprise That the Trump Administration’s Africa Policy Is Nonexistent. But We Should Care", 1 June 2017
Science and rationality lost; willful ignorance and narrow self-interest won.

— ben santer, Scientific American Blog Network, "Trump and the Tide of History", 1 June 2017
Her sullen, Pushkin-reading daughter is tastily embodied by Talene Monahon as a spiky forerunner of Dostoyevsky’s and Chekhov’s creatures of willful perversity.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "Review: In ‘The Government Inspector,’ Dumb and Dumber, Deliciously", 1 June 2017
Dees is charged with torture or willful abuse of a child under 18-years-old, which is a class C felony.

— prescotte stokes iii, AL.com, "Man left 2 babies home alone to avoid arrest, police say", 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'willful'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of willful

13th century

willful Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of willful

unruly, ungovernable, intractable, refractory, recalcitrant, willful, headstrong mean not submissive to government or control. unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior. unruly children ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others. ungovernable rage intractable suggests stubborn resistance to guidance or control. intractable opponents of the hazardous-waste dump refractory stresses resistance to attempts to manage or to mold. special schools for refractory children recalcitrant suggests determined resistance to or defiance of authority. acts of sabotage by a recalcitrant populace willful implies an obstinate determination to have one's own way. a willful disregard for the rights of others headstrong suggests self-will impatient of restraint, advice, or suggestion. a headstrong young cavalry officer

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