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View synonyms for wayward

wayward

[ wey-werd ]

adjective

  1. turned or turning away from what is right or proper; willful; disobedient:

    a wayward son; wayward behavior.

    Synonyms: intractable, refractory, unruly, obstinate, stubborn, headstrong, contrary

  2. swayed or prompted by caprice; capricious:

    a wayward impulse; to be wayward in one's affections.

  3. turning or changing irregularly; irregular:

    a wayward breeze.

    Synonyms: changeable, inconstant, unsteady



wayward

/ ˈweɪwəd /

adjective

  1. wanting to have one's own way regardless of the wishes or good of others
  2. capricious, erratic, or unpredictable
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈwaywardness, noun
  • ˈwaywardly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • wayward·ly adverb
  • wayward·ness noun
  • un·wayward adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wayward1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of awayward. See away, -ward
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wayward1

C14: changed from awayward turned or turning away
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Synonym Study

See willful.
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Example Sentences

But however menacing, these were still just protests, and if Taylor was right about an approaching era of violence — something more widespread and systemic than the lone-wolf terrorism of a wayward man like Crusius — it was still unclear what the actual danger looked like.

From Salon

Norrie's aggressive returning became more wayward as he tried to recover, meaning he was unable to apply any more serious pressure on Bonzi's serve.

From BBC

Gauff then converted set point on Swiatek’s serve as the Pole hit a wayward forehand out of bounds.

From BBC

Wayward farm girl Dorothy Gale has dropped into Oz by unintentionally but rather precisely dropping a house on the witch, freeing the colorful clan of Munchkins from the tyrannical scourge of a witch who took pleasure in bending them to her will.

From Salon

He’d inflamed fans with incendiary words about me as a wayward girl hectoring his unprotected naked men, but my attorney was preparing to challenge his discriminatory treatment of me in ways that no commissioner had experienced in baseball’s other court cases.

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way to gowayworn