US /ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/
adj Freq #18146

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    Stubbornly doing as one pleases and refusing to behave properly.

    His parents struggled for years with their wayward son.

  2. 2
    adj

    Hard to control or predict; tending to stray off course.

    A wayward shot sailed high over the crossbar.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · stubbornly doing as one... perverse
Word family
Forms waywardness
Derived forms waywardlywaywardness

Etymology

Shortening of away + -ward.

Topics

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