WILLFUL


Meaning of WILLFUL in English

adjective

or wil·ful ˈwilfəl

Etymology: Middle English wilful, from (assumed) Old English wilful willing (whence Old English wilfullīce willfully), from Old English wil will + -ful

1. : governed by will without yielding to reason or without regard to reason : obstinately or perversely self-willed

devil took possession … I became obstinate and willful — L.N.Chambers

seemed willful as children, believing that the wish justified the act — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall

the moral passions are even more willful and imperious and impatient than the self-seeking passions — Lionel Trilling

: stubborn

possibly a few willful people might deny that Vermont is the most beautiful state — Bernard DeVoto

2. : done deliberately : not accidental or without purpose : intentional , self-determined

a willful injury

willful murder

willful distortion of the facts

alleged willful failure to register — Current Biography

3. obsolete : ready or disposed to comply : willing

4. obsolete : done of one's own free will : not compulsory

Synonyms: see unruly , voluntary

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.