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.
For her role as a young woman in conflict with her headstrong father in 1985’s “Twice in a Lifetime,” Madigan received an Oscar nomination for supporting actress.
From Los Angeles Times
Both occasionally volatile and headstrong, they share a mutual respect that outlasted any of their brief disputes.
From BBC
“We’ve celebrated our ‘diversity’ so much that we forgot all the ways we’re really the same as Americans, bound by ideals that united a divided, headstrong group of people 250 years ago.
From Washington Times
But Pica is already acutely aware of peril: The headstrong student has been taking Polaroids of young Black men and bringing them to her 35mm-focused photography course.
From New York Times
Arina, born 20 minutes before her twin, has described her sister as headstrong, and herself as more mild-mannered.
From Seattle Times
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.
