Word familyadverbwaywardlyadjectivewaywardnounwaywardness
way·ward /ˈweɪwəd $ -wərd/adjectiveadj
BAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONSbehaving badly, in a way that is difficult to control 难以控制的;任性的;倔强的
a wayward teenager
任性的少年
—waywardness noun [uncountableU]
Examples from the Corpus
wayward• They were both very smart and correct, but Grandad was a little more wayward.• The dashboard sports a gash from wayward bicycle gears.• Aunt Sally left her personal estate of several hundred thousand dollars to a home for wayward Dalmatians.• Leonie felt a momentary pang of compassion for her wayward granddaughter.• The chemistry had been between them from the start, waiting only for a wayward spark to ignite it.• wayward youth
Originwayward
(1300-1400)awayward“turned away”((13-16 centuries)), from away + -ward