1
as in stubbornness
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
her unceasing willfulness eventually wore down her critics and opponents
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rebellion
refusal to obey
the trainer was able to correct our dog's willfulness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of willfulness
Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.
—
David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.
—Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
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, 17 Nov. 2025
While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Christian Science doesn’t demand blind faith and willfulness but a willingness to surrender to this higher truth.
—Matthew Schmidt, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025
David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.
—Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
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, 17 Nov. 2025
While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Christian Science doesn’t demand blind faith and willfulness but a willingness to surrender to this higher truth.
—Matthew Schmidt, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willfulness
Noun
-
At some point, the preference for consistency and the resolve to make decisions built on past success starts to mirror stubbornness.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2026
-
Like Sunshine Sean, Bedsy offers a high floor, good-to-brilliant regular seasons, and inevitable playoff heartbreak brought on by a combination of stubbornness and the inability to adapt on the fly.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
View gallery - 5 images There's a rebellion underway against the always-on, infinitely-scrollable nature of the smartphone.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 June 2026
-
Within weeks, the new hypernationalist government mounted an effort to suppress the Russian language in the Donbas, provoking a rebellion among ethnically Russian Ukrainians.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko credited modern forensic tools and long-term investigative persistence for the arrest, saying advances in DNA technology finally provided answers that were not possible in 1990.—
Anthony Thompson,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
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That matters in a Congress where coalition-building, legal acumen, and persistence are often the difference between progress and paralysis.—
Joel Rubin,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
For this poet, the first place of childhood and language is his village in the South, a place that has continued to exist in defiance of some of the most brutal forces of occupation, aggression, and now unabashed annihilation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
In a 230-191 vote, the House approved the bill in defiance of House GOP leadership.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Starmer’s realism—or obstinacy, depending on your point of view—had seen off an immediate challenge.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
-
The natural obstinacy and rebelliousness of Israa’s teenage years are hyperaccelerated by culture clashes with both her family and the other kids around her.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Marji’s rebelliousness, both admirable and terrifying for those who love her, is her salient characteristic.—
Hillary Chute,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2026
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The pseudo-goth hair and costume choices speak to an inner rebelliousness that isn’t so much unleashed as forced loose by a system that values the appearance of a mythical impartiality over her humanity, leaving her with little recourse but to step outside the confines of the law.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This requires yielding – surrendering self-will, fear, and human outlining – to the pure activity of Christ within consciousness.—
Larissa Snorek,
Christian Science Monitor,
12 Dec. 2025
-
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
Noun
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The Catholic Church teaches that all other people are conceived with original sin as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden.—
Bridget Retzloff,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
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There is zero tolerance for political disobedience.—
Daniel Drake,
The New York Review of Books,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Willfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willfulness. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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