willfulness

noun

Definition of willfulnessnext
1
as in stubbornness
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion her unceasing willfulness eventually wore down her critics and opponents

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rebellion
refusal to obey the trainer was able to correct our dog's willfulness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for willfulness
  1. rebellion
  2. persistence
  3. defiance
  4. obstinacy
  5. disobedience
  6. persistency
  7. intransigence
  8. obduracy
Noun
  • The resignation of one of his most loyal allies blindsided Trudeau and sparked a caucus rebellion.
    Amanda Coletta The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
  • After their victories on the battlefield, American forces prevented a Filipino rebellion through psychological warfare, infiltration, surveillance, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the formation of native militias tasked with suppressing dissent.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of rebellion
Noun
  • All this leads to the persistence of small pockets of jihadist sympathizers in the West, whether lone wolves or small clusters, who consume (and produce) ISIS propaganda and at times activate themselves to carry out attacks.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025
  • Together, this creates an environment where persistence and self-belief lead to greater success and achievement. 2.
    Mark Travers, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Definition of persistence
Noun
  • City voters passed the ordinance in defiance of the state, and out of concern that there are insufficient safeguards to prevent fraudulent voting.
    Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 15 Jan. 2025
  • But that sense of defiance goes hand-in-hand with a sense of neediness in Warren’s driven world.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Jan. 2025
Definition of defiance
Noun
  • Yet, over time, Bashar Assad inherited his father’s obstinacy and brutality and increasingly relied on the security apparatus to maintain control, stifling dissent and curbing opposition.
    Sefa Secen / Made by History, TIME, 17 Dec. 2024
  • That is the popular girl’s cross to bear, and the desperate obstinacy that comes with this realization is one of Cody’s main themes.
    Rafaela Bassili, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2024
Definition of obstinacy
Noun
  • In the past six years, Ohio has issued close to 885,000 suspensions and expulsions for comments and misbehaviors tagged as disobedience or disruption.
    Meredith Kolodner, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
  • On the other, her disobedience results from her gullibility and erroneous reason.
    Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of disobedience
Noun
  • The tannins are well structured yet soft and the wine has great persistency in the finish.
    Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 2 May 2023
  • Dan recalled of his daughter’s persistency.
    Eric Sondheimer Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2020
Definition of persistency
Noun
  • Arsenal learned all about Brighton’s January intransigence two years ago while making a determined pursuit of Caicedo.
    Andy Naylor, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • One of his spokesmen has been indicted for endangering national security on suspicion of falsifying and leaking classified intelligence in order to validate the cabinet’s intransigence on a hostage deal.
    Shalom Lipner, Foreign Affairs, 25 Nov. 2024
Definition of intransigence
Noun
  • Related: ‘Neglected diseases’ are anything but neglected by the billion-plus people living with them One possible reason for this obduracy is that noma begins as a dental disease, and dental diseases have long been underappreciated global health concerns.
    John Button, STAT, 16 Dec. 2023
  • Andreas blames the obduracy of U.S. politicians and bureaucrats for the persistence of the drug wars, despite their evident failure and their huge financial and human costs.
    Russell Crandall, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021
Definition of obduracy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near willfulness

willfully

willfulness

willies

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Cite this Entry

“Willfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willfulness. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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