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Definition of "wayward" []

  • Given to or marked by willful, often perverse deviation from what is desired, expected, or required in order to gratify one's own impulses or inclinations. See Synonyms at unruly. (adjective)
  • Swayed or prompted by caprice; unpredictable. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "wayward" in a sentence
  • "Pastor Collom's ties with the kids relate to his own youth, which he describes as wayward on his chapter's Web site."
  • ""Someone's Gonna Rescue You" is not exactly Young's finest compositional hour a directionless tune sung partly in wayward falsetto."
  • "As for our little Madelon, the small, round, pinafored child was hardly recognisable in this slim little girl, in white frock, with brown hair that hung in short wayward tangling waves, instead of curling in soft ringlets all over her head; and yet Graham, who rarely forgot"