untoward

1 given to resisting authority or another's control tried to reason with the untoward child Synonyms balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, intractable, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, ungovernable, unruly, disobedient, wayward, willful (or wilful)Related Words noncooperative, uncooperative; insurgent, mutinous; adamant, adamantine, dogged, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inflexible, mulish, negativistic, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, peevish, pertinacious, pigheaded, rigid, self-willed, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding; fractious, restive, uncontrollable, unmanageable, wild; perverse, resistant, wrongheaded; bad, disorderly, errant, misbehaving, mischievous, monkeying, monkeyish, naughty; undisciplined; dissident, nonconformist; discourteous, disrespectful, ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-natured, impertinent, impolite, impudent, inconsiderate, insolent, ornery, rude, uncivil, uncouth, ungracious, unmannerlyNear Antonyms acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, cooperative, deferential, obliging; yielding; behaved, disciplined, well-bred; courteous, polite, respectful; kowtowing, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient; decorous, mannerly, orderly, proper; controllable, governable, manageable, trainableAntonyms amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, obedient, ruly, submissive, tractable

2 given to resisting control or discipline by others a program for untoward teenagers that is designed to give them the kind of discipline that their parents were unable or unwilling to administer Synonyms froward, headstrong, incontrollable, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly, uncontrollable, wayward, willful (or wilful)Related Words bullheaded, contrary, difficult, hardheaded, incorrigible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, perverse, pigheaded, self-willed, stiff, stiff-necked, stubborn; undisciplined, unpunished; uncontrolled, wild; boisterous, irrepressible, rambunctious, rowdy; disobedient, indocile, insubordinate, rebellious; misbehaving, naughtyNear Antonyms docile, obedient, well-behaved; compliant, placable, pliable, submissive, yielding; accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing; reasonable, temperate, trainableAntonyms controllable, governable, manageable, tractable

3 opposed to one's interests achieved great success as an artist despite growing up in a very untoward milieu Synonyms counter, disadvantageous, hostile, inimical, negative, prejudicial, unfavorable, unfriendly, unsympathetic, adverseRelated Words bad, baleful, baneful, evil; damaging, deleterious, destructive, detrimental, fatal, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, lethal, malignant, murderous, noxious, pernicious, poisonous, ruinous, threatening, troublesome, unhealthy, wounding; dangerous, hazardous, imperiling (or imperilling), jeopardizing, parlous, perilous, risky, unsafe; calumnious, defamatory, detractive, offensive, scathing, slanderous; antagonistic, antipathetic, inhospitable, intolerant, uncongenial, uncooperative; competing, conflicting, counteracting, countering, opposing, resistant, resistingNear Antonyms beneficial, good, helpful, propitious, useful; harmless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, nondestructive, nonfatal, nonlethal, nonthreatening; unresistant; tolerant, understanding; affable, agreeable, amiable, amicable, benign, benignant, complying, congenial, cordial, friendly, hospitableAntonyms advantageous, favorable, friendly, positive, supportive, sympathetic, well-disposed

4 not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation unfortunately, one of the symptoms of dementia can be a tendency to make untoward and often shocking remarks Synonyms amiss, graceless, improper, inapposite, inapt, incongruous, incorrect, indecorous, inept, infelicitous, malapropos, perverse, unapt, unbecoming, unfit, unhappy, unseemly, unsuitable, inappropriate, wrongRelated Words inopportune, unfortunate, unseasonable, untimely; extraneous, immaterial, inapplicable, irrelative, irrelevant; misbecoming, mismatched; incompatible, inconsistent, uncongenial; bad, naughty, sinful; blamable, blameworthy, censurable; banned, barred, disallowed; forbidden, interdicted, outlawed, prohibited, proscribed; awkward, gauche, ungraceful; unacceptable, unsatisfactoryNear Antonyms fortunate, opportune, seasonable, timely; applicable, apposite, apropos, apt, germane, material, pat, pointed, relative, relevant; compatible, congenial, harmonious; allowed, authorized, permitted; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), kosher, licensed, sanctioned; abetted, encouraged, promoted, supported; acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, tolerable; commendable, creditable, exemplary; blameless, irreproachable; balanced, companionate, congruous, consonant, harmoniousAntonyms appropriate, becoming, befitting, correct, decorous, felicitous, fit, fitting, genteel, happy, meet, proper, right, seemly, suitable