adjective
-
self-willed; obstinate
-
(of an action) heedless; rash
Related Words
See willful.
Other Word Forms
- headstrongly adverb
- headstrongness noun
Etymology
Origin of headstrong
First recorded in 1350–1400, headstrong is from the Middle English word heedstronge. See head, strong
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We don’t yet want to say that the situation has spiraled out of control, but the spiral could be only a couple of headstrong choices away.
From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026
As a headstrong piano student, he made rapid if idiosyncratic progress.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
What if those new military leaders round the table are more headstrong and less cautious than their dead predecessors?
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025
This classic Eastside story centers Ana García, a headstrong teen with educational aspirations, who is often at odds with her traditional, menopausal Mexican mother, Carmen.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2025
The common explanation, he wasn’t rah-rah enough, didn’t make any sense to him, although the coaches were hardly the only ones who found him to be stubborn and headstrong.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
