Synonyms for willful
- adjective
- American English
Most common
stubborn self-willed headstrong disobedient deliberate intentional
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Self-willed — stubborn and determined
self-willed, stubborn, headstrong, disobedient, obstinate, wayward, hard-headed, perverse, dogged, sullen, refractory, pig-headed, tenacious, unyielding, stiff-necked, inflexible, intractable, mulish, contumacious, pertinacious, froward dated
2. Deliberate — intentional; deliberate
deliberate, intentional, voluntary, volitional, conscious, designed, purposed
Other
contrarious dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Intentional; deliberate.
- adj. 2
Stubborn and determined.
Related words
- Word family
- willfully willfulness
- Other spellings
- wilful UK
Example sentences
- stubborn I'm not stubborn; i'm just always right, thats it.
- headstrong Tom doesn't seem to be as headstrong as Mary seems to be.
- disobedient Disobedient boys can not be happy in this world.
- deliberate You must be deliberate in selecting a partner.
- intentional Tom suggested that what Mary did was intentional.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| willful | steady | |
| stubborn | rising | |
| headstrong | rising | |
| disobedient | rising | |
| deliberate | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- dogged1, sullen2, mulish
- 7 letters
- wayward2, froward
- 8 letters
- designed2, stubborn2, perverse2, purposed
- 9 letters
- conscious2, voluntary4, tenacious3, obstinate3
- 10 letters
- deliberate4, refractory4, inflexible4, headstrong2, unyielding3, volitional
- 11 letters
- intentional4, intractable4, disobedient5, contrarious
- 12 letters
- contumacious, pertinacious
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (sullen2 = 2 syllables).