FROWARDNESS Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

frowardness

noun

Definition of frowardness

as in rebellion

refusal to obey the orphan was harshly disciplined for her chronic frowardness

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for frowardness

Noun

Within 36 hours one of the prisoners had an apparent mental breakdown, and on the second day the inmates staged a rebellion.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
In their utopian reconstruction of a mythic past, the Agrarians’ polemics failed to mention the South’s legacies of slavery and rebellion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebellion

Noun

These women — cradle Catholics and converts, former nuns, teachers, hospice chaplains, counselors, spouses, mothers, grandmothers — say their defiance is the fulfillment of a vocation, no different than the call answered by their male counterparts.

— Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Taking the Long Way, more than anger or defiance, zeroes in on the sting of being ousted from your own home.

— Shaad D’Souza, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of defiance

Noun

And from that boredom, a different kind of will, the willfulness that accompanies a need to destroy that happiness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
From grandmother to grandchild, these three sets of two sisters were powerful characters possessed with passion, willfulness, bravery, and devotion to each other.

— Griffin Dunne, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of willfulness

Noun

The stigma helped imprint a stamp of rebelliousness on the brand which lives on today, says Carpenter, even as Burton has become a fixture on resort slopes across the world and within the annals of Olympian history.

— Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.

— Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026

Definition of rebelliousness

Noun

After federal prosecutors and defense attorneys had presented all their evidence Tuesday, Morrow’s attorneys asked Orso to dismiss the three petty charges accusing her of obstruction, disruption and disobedience.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Another child said he was forced to carry out artillery strikes and beaten for disobedience.

— Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of disobedience

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

froward

frowardness

frown

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Frowardness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frowardness. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of frowardness

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

puissant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes