wayward
/ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/
wayward adjective: given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.
Adjective
wayward (comparative more wayward, superlative most wayward)
- Given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.
- He is a brilliant fellow when he chooses to work—one of the brightest intellects of the University, but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled.1904 June, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Three Students”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC
- Fancies are like shadows . . . you can’t cage them, they’re such wayward, dancing things.1909 September, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “The Pointing of Duty”, in Anne of Avonlea, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, →OCLC, page 66
- Obstinate, contrary and unpredictable.
- Synonyms:
- adamant, ardent, grim, untiring, bent on, bloody-minded, bullheaded, certain, chronic, confirmed
- Not on target.
- Bulgaria's only attacking weapon was the wayward shooting of Martin Petrov, whereas England's attacking options were awash with movement in the shape of Rooney, Young and Walcott.2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC
Noun
wayward (plural waywards)
- Someone, especially a young woman or girl, who is wayward.
- the wild, half-starved youth whom we style incorrigibles, delinquents, and waywards1908 September 3, “The Real Lindsey”, in Journal of Education
- The girls classed as first offenders and waywards gave a higher intelligence quotient than the others.1928, Leizer Grimberg, Emotion and Delinquency: A Clinical Study of Five Hundred Criminals in the Making
wayward meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
wayward in Tamil
- ஏறுமாறான, ஒட்டாரமான, சிறுபிள்ளைத்தனமான
wayward in Urdu
- آوارہ, البیلا, بھٹکا ہوا, غیرمطیع, خودسر
wayward in Malayalam
- അനുസരണം കെട്ട, ചൊൽപ്പടികേൾക്കാത്ത, അനിയന്ത്രിതമായ, അടക്കമില്ലാത്ത
wayward in Kannada
- ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಕೇಳದ, ತಲೆಹೋಕ, ಮೊಂಡ, ಮುನ್ನುಡಿಯಲಾಗದ, ಹಠಮಾರಿತನದ, ಮೊಂಡುತನದ
More languagesFewer languages
- wayward in Persian
- خودسر xodsar
Examples of wayward in a sentence
- The prizes, which are the wayward son of the more righteous Nobels, are supposed to reward research that makes people laugh, then think.2004 October 1, Helen Pilcher, “Laughter in the lab”, in Nature, →DOI:
- Disobedience and waywardism laws were pioneered on young women, and could be arrested as a disobedient or wayward at the age of 20.2023 March 3, Nathan J. Robinson, quoting Hugh Ryan, “How Queer History Is Buried”, in Current Affairs:
Synonyms of wayward
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- determined
- diehard
- dogged
- hard-hearted
- hard-nosed
- hardheaded
- headstrong
- immovable
- incalcitrant
- inflexible
- insistent
- intractable
- intransigent
- intrepid
- inveterate
- mulish
- obdurate
- obstinate
- obstreperous
- peremptory
- persistent
- pertinacious
- pigheaded
- recalcitrant
- refractory
- resolute
- resolved
- rigid
- self-willed
- stalwart
Forms of wayward
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more wayward |
| superlative | most wayward |
| Noun | |
| plural | waywards |
Origin of wayward
Shortening of away + -ward.
Words formed from wayward
Words that rhyme with wayward
Questions about wayward
- What does wayward mean?
- Wayward means given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.
- What is wayward in Tamil?
- Wayward in Tamil is ஏறுமாறான, ஒட்டாரமான, சிறுபிள்ளைத்தனமான. See Wayward meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use wayward in a sentence?
- The prizes, which are the wayward son of the more righteous Nobels, are supposed to reward research that makes people laugh, then think.
- What part of speech is wayward?
- Wayward can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce wayward?
- Wayward is pronounced /ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/.
Words near wayward in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wayward (page history and authors); wayward (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wayward (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wayward (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wayward (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wayward.wav.
Cite this entry: “wayward.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wayward. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.