as in willfulness
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
a schoolboy with a streak of self-will and rebellion
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Recent Examples of self-will
But also injuries and ailments at all the wrong times, as well as overt self-will at times.
—
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2025
So for those of us torn between watching the sun get blotted out and getting blotto keeping our attention on a particularly good rock show, this exercise in multi-tasking was a real contest of self-will.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2025
So for those of us torn between watching the sun get blotted out and getting blotto keeping our attention on a particularly good rock show, this exercise in multi-tasking was a real contest of self-will.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-will
Noun
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The orphan’s predicament is as much a matter of willfulness as of survival—inseparable, as in the works of Charles Dickens, from a dream of being somehow rescued by the idea of an adult world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
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While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
That trickle-down stubbornness is the only reason San Francisco is still playing.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
What threads them is an insistence, maybe even a stubbornness, that shopping still belongs in the physical world.—
Paul Jebara,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The White House does not seem to have a workaround to Putin’s obstinacy, and Rubio told Hannity that all other parties seeking to end the conflict are hopeless.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Dec. 2025
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The gaps between Kyiv and Moscow remain too explicit, and their reasons for obstinacy too drenched in sacrifice, anxiety and blood.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
28 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The distorting design of the Senate and the Electoral College, the filibuster’s persistence, and centralized leadership have all contributed to legislative ossification.—
Duncan Hosie,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Twenty years of hard work and persistence, blessed by occasional moments when chance had generously smiled on him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Home Service Insurance segment experienced a decline in premiums, attributed to strategic actions to improve sales quality and persistency, as well as economic pressures such as inflation.—
Quartz Intelligence Newsroom,
Quartz,
13 Mar. 2025
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The tannins are well structured yet soft and the wine has great persistency in the finish.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
2 May 2023
Noun
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If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Ole Miss’ resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Mississippi’s resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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China has gained, not suffered, from this obduracy.—
JONATHAN A. CZIN,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Nov. 2025
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Related: ‘Neglected diseases’ are anything but neglected by the billion-plus people living with them One possible reason for this obduracy is that noma begins as a dental disease, and dental diseases have long been underappreciated global health concerns.—
John Button,
STAT,
16 Dec. 2023
Noun
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But this outcome is more the product of Putin’s intransigence than European diplomacy.—
Matthias Matthijs,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2025
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John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Russia Program, told Fox News Digital Moscow's intransigence over the past 10 months has been the main obstacle to Trump’s diplomatic efforts.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
25 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-will.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-will. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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