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wrongheadedness

noun

as in perversity

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wrongheadedness That wrongheadedness of hip-hop media’s mindset bears fruit in the endless loop of misinformation. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrongheadedness
  1. perversity
  2. intransigence
  3. obstinacy
  4. obduracy
  5. stubbornness
  6. doggedness
  7. inflexibility
  8. inexorability
Noun
  • Its practice of permitting construction projects at the same time in adjoining areas, causing the most inconvenience to vehicular traffic, wins the award for most perversity.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The movie is essentially an old-fashioned story of one lad’s sentimental education, spiced up with NSFW perversity.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026
Definition of perversity
Noun
  • The fact that so many diplomats before him have struggled is a testament not to the intransigence of international problems but to the mediocrity of his predecessors.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Fatigue with the stagnation inherent in contemporary democratic institutions is among the key factors that make the promise to break through intransigence by autocratic leaders attractive to a plurality of voters.
    — Wendell Wallach, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026
Definition of intransigence
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
Definition of obstinacy
Noun
  • Perhaps the greatest testament to Morocco’s obduracy came late in normal time, when Rodri — a central midfielder being deployed as a central defender — strode forward and shot, more in hope than in expectation, from 35 yards.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 6 Dec. 2022
  • But a year later, more than two dozen of them remain stuck in Afghanistan, stalled by bureaucratic wrangling, the vagaries of international diplomacy and the obduracy of the Taliban government.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
Definition of obduracy
Noun
  • The film’s cast is mostly made up of tribal non-actors, but Anghlong Konyak is its captivating center, as a man whose stubbornness against change sits alongside a lingering grief over his fading way of life.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Perhaps the stubbornness on both sides is why this rivalry thrives despite its nonconference status.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of stubbornness
Noun
  • The Afghan Taliban and the Iraqi insurgency beat the United States through roadside bombs and sheer doggedness.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • Her doggedness, maybe her righteousness too, a fierce myopic focus and will, and a crazy confidence that in the end, both have nothing to lose.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 15 June 2026
Definition of doggedness
Noun
  • Long agrees, but adds that those who may be child-free should beware of many of those accounts' inflexibility.
    — Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Signs of a low travel IQ include inflexibility, ignoring cultural norms, and panicking over minor issues.
    — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of inflexibility
Noun
  • The events set in motion at the end of Season 2 do flip the boulder that starts to roll down the hill, and there is the sense of inexorability.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 6 June 2026
  • These poems are plainspoken, emotionally direct, haunted by the past and the inexorability of time.
    — Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Definition of inexorability

Browse Nearby Words

wrongheaded
wrongheadedness
wronging
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Cite this Entry

“Wrongheadedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrongheadedness. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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