Antonyms for willful

Grammar : Adj

Spell : wil-fuhl

Phonetic Transcription : ˈwɪl fəl

Definition of willful

Origin : c.1200, "strong-willed," from will (n.) + -ful. Willfully is late Old English wilfullice "of one's own free will, voluntarily;" bad sense of "on purpose" is attested from late 14c.

adj stubborn, obstinate
adj voluntary

Example sentences :

But though Pauline was willful, she had other and great and noble qualities.
Extract from : « Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848 » by Various

But young girls are willful, and the upshot of the whole matter was—she eloped with him.
Extract from : « Pretty Madcap Dorothy » by Laura Jean Libbey

Mrs. Kemp knew no other than her beautiful, willful niece's pleasure.
Extract from : « Pretty Madcap Dorothy » by Laura Jean Libbey

And willful too—he just mopes around because he wants to show me I'm wrong.
Extract from : « The Best Short Stories of 1920 » by Various

He was selfish, willful, and obstinate at two-and-thirty as he had been at ten years of age.
Extract from : « Paul Patoff » by F. Marion Crawford

He was a willful man, with a good deal of granite in his make-up.
Extract from : « The Highgrader » by William MacLeod Raine

Tis hard for Dunces to understand this as all willful Fools are.
Extract from : « Magazine, or Animadversions on the English Spelling (1703) » by G. W.

Ignorant or willful disregard of the nature and welfare of an animal is cruelty.
Extract from : « Practical Ethics » by William DeWitt Hyde

I left them to manage their willful little folk in their own way.
Extract from : « A Bird-Lover in the West » by Olive Thorne Miller

Yet she knew that she alone was to blame—she, obstinate, willful, heedless.
Extract from : « The Trail to Yesterday » by Charles Alden Seltzer

Synonyms for willful

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019