Thesaurus

willful

adjective

variants: or wilful

Synonyms and Antonyms of willful

1 given to resisting authority or another's control

a particularly willful horse that took weeks to break to saddle

Synonyms of willful

balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, disobedient, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, intractable, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, ungovernable, unruly, untoward, wayward

Words Related to willful

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

dissident, nonconformist

discourteous, disrespectful, ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-natured, impertinent, impolite, impudent, inconsiderate, insolent, ornery, rude, uncivil, uncouth, ungracious, unmannerly

Near Antonyms of willful

acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, cooperative, deferential, obliging

behaved, disciplined, well-bred

courteous, polite, respectful

kowtowing, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient

decorous, mannerly, orderly, proper

controllable, governable, manageable, trainable

Antonyms of willful

amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, obedient, ruly, submissive, tractable

2 given to resisting control or discipline by others

finally the parents sought professional counseling for the willful child

Synonyms of willful

froward, headstrong, incontrollable, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly, untoward, wayward

Words Related to willful

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, naughty

Phrases Synonymous with willful

out of hand

Near Antonyms of willful

docile, obedient, well-behaved

compliant, placable, pliable, submissive, yielding

accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing

reasonable, temperate, trainable

Antonyms of willful

controllable, governable, manageable, tractable

3 having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity

a willful disregard for the rights of others

Synonyms of willful

arbitrary, dictatorial, high-handed, imperious, peremptory

Words Related to willful

arrogant, commanding, demanding, dominant, domineering, haughty, imperative, lordly, masterful, overbearing, presumptuous

authoritarian, autocratic (also autocratical), despotic, totalitarian, tyrannical (also tyrannic), tyrannous

capricious, changeable, erratic, inconsistent, mercurial, whimsical

biased, inequitable, partisan, prejudiced, unequal, unfair, unjust, unrealistic, unreasonable

unconscionable, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous

Near Antonyms of willful

balanced, disinterested, dispassionate, equal, equitable, evenhanded, fair, impartial, just, nonpartisan, objective

rational, reasonable, understanding

unbiased, unprejudiced

ethical, honorable, irreproachable, law-abiding, moral, principled, unimpeachable

4 made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing

a willful attempt to cheat her siblings out of their rightful inheritance

Synonyms of willful

conscious, deliberate, intended, intentional, knowing, purposeful, purposive, set, voluntary, willed, witting

Words Related to willful

designed, planned

advised, calculated, considered, measured, reasoned, studied, thoughtful, weighed

premeditated, premeditative, prepense

discretionary, elective, optional, volunteer

Near Antonyms of willful

inadvertent, unwitting

accidental, chance, haphazard, hit-or-miss, incidental, random

aimless, desultory, purposeless

abrupt, impetuous, sudden

coerced, forced, involuntary

compulsory, mandatory, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, ordered, required

extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, spontaneous, unforced, unpremeditated

Antonyms of willful

nondeliberate, nonpurposive, unintentional

5 sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion

the kind of willful person who can never bring himself to admit that he made a mistake

Synonyms of willful

adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hard-nosed, hardened, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding

Words Related to willful

anal-retentive, obsessive

wayward, wrongheaded

determined, hell-bent, inexorable, persistent, relentless, resolved, set, single-minded, steadfast, stouthearted, tenacious, unflinching

firm, hard-line, hard-shell (or hard-shelled), iron, severe, stern, strict

hidebound, narrow-minded, rigid

bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous

contrary, cussed

contumacious, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncooperative, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly

defiant, insurgent, mutinous

indomitable, invincible, unconquerable

confirmed, inveterate, unregenerate

demanding, exacting

Phrases Synonymous with willful

deaf to reason

Near Antonyms of willful

docile, obedient, placable, submissive, tractable

accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing

governable, manageable, reasonable, temperate

slavish, subservient

Antonyms of willful

acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding

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

Learn More about willful

See words that rhyme with willful Dictionary: Definition of willful Spanish Central: Translation of willful Nglish: Translation of willful for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of willful for Arabic speakers

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