How to Use willful in a Sentence

willful

adjective

• He has shown a willful disregard for other people's feelings.
• Most of the non-willful fines were in the hundreds of dollars.
  — oregonlive, 20 Apr. 2022
• At the top of this list might well be his willful destruction of the Russian Army.
  — Michael Krepon, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
• This season focuses on the willful delusion of the wealthy.
  — Lauren Jackson, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2022
• Her mother, 70, was booked on three counts of torture and three counts of willful cruelty to a child.
  — Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2022
• The greed and willful blindness must be laid at the feet of his investors and financial partners.
  — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2021
• In effect, the public was dragged from willful ignorance by the truth.
  — The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2021
• Mayorkas, 64, faced two charges from the House: willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
  — Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 7 Feb. 2024
• Adella Tom was booked on three counts each of torture and willful cruelty to a child.
  — Gina Martinez, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2022
• And so there's a willful destructiveness as much as there is a very strong creative urge in her.
  — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2023
• Mayorkas, 64, now faces two charges from the House: willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
  — Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
• If the violation can be proved to be knowing or willful the amount is tripled.
  — Peter J Reilly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
• One was unruly, willful and disobedient, and the other was calm and easy to be around.
  — Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
• Both are charged with murder and willful harming of a child, according to jail records.
  — Fox News, 12 Nov. 2021
• But the willful swirl and the withholding of coherence are too extreme here.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2021
• Leda observes Nina on the beach with her young daughter, who seems willful and moody.
  — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 5 Sep. 2021
• So be aware that the concept of willful endangerment could put you over that limit.
  — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024
• So this willful denial of what movies actually are has set in.
  — Zack Sharf, Variety, 17 July 2023
• If a jury finds that Equifax's error was willful, the company could be on the hook for up to $1,000 more in damages for each defendant.
  — Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2022
• Putin’s key delusion is his willful failure to understand—and accept—how Ukraine has come to be.
  — Tarik Cyril Amar, Time, 4 Mar. 2022
• Students often don't show up for reasons that aren't willful: Some struggle with getting a ride to school.
  — Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 17 Nov. 2021
• Her fascination with these objects didn’t strike me as sad, or clingy, but as willful.
  — Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 14 July 2021
• The rest of the face-off continues to ignore the production strings at hand, giving it an air of willful ignorance.
  — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 10 Aug. 2021
• Amid all these victories, there has been a ton of failure, error, and sheer willful stupidity over the past year and a half.
  — Ryan Cooper, The Week, 2 Nov. 2021
• Hasn’t willful ignorance gotten us into these doomy problems in the first place?
  — Stephanie Hayes, Sun Sentinel, 13 Sep. 2022
• Some of the most esteemed long-distance trails in recent years have been built by willful enthusiasts.
  — New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022
• The term — which was coined in the 1970s — refers to the willful destruction of nature and has often been used to describe the actions of the wealthy given their outsize carbon footprint.
  — Eva Roytburg, Fortune Europe, 9 June 2024
• The Times argued that its woeful misfeasance was not willful.
  — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 26 Feb. 2022
• There are so many annoying human behaviors — willful ignorance has topped my personal list the last eight years or so — but hypocrisy has to be among the worst.
  — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 1 Aug. 2024
• Huxley fought not just for Darwin and evolution but also against superstition and willful ignorance.
  — Brenda Wineapple, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2024

Last Updated: 26 Oct 2024