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
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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
-
Coupled with the music, the bites have a sense of rebellion, but this isn’t outright middle finger food.—
Colin Wrenn,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
-
As Season 2 unfolds, the two young couples will be tested and separated once again by forces beyond their control, as every clan chooses a side in the rebellion.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
However, persistence becomes problematic when PFAS leach or evaporate out of products and into the surrounding environment.—
Carrie McDonough,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
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The movie is more than a celebration of persistence in the face of rejection, of faith in oneself, or of the power of love.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
From Stonewall’s 1969 uprising to today’s golf tournaments, human rights summits and bar crawls, Pride events in Los Angeles, New York and global cities mix festival energy with defiance.—
Geoff Mulvihill,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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Tensions escalated when Tigray held regional elections in defiance of thata federal delay, leading to a political standoff that erupted into a civil war in November 2020.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
31 May 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
-
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
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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
-
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
-
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 5 Jun. 2026.
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