Wayward

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/

Definitions

1. Difficult to control or predict; following one's own desires rather than rules or what is expected
2. Deviating from the expected path or behavior, often acting impulsively and without regard for guidance or authority
3. exhibiting a tendency to stray from norms or rules in pursuit of personal desires

Etymology: "Wayward" looks like a simple pairing of "away" and "-ward," and the record supports that: it is a shortening of "awayward," formed from "away" plus the directional suffix "-ward," which appears in words like "homeward" and "backward." The original sense was literal: something heading off in a direction, turning away from where it ought to go. The sense of stubbornness or unpredictability grew out of that picture of a thing that will not keep to its course. The shortened form, with the "-ward" ending reduced to "-ward" in the way the spoken word shrank, is what survives today. Because the meaning comes straight from the parts, the word reads as a description of motion before it describes temperament. A wayward child or a wayward ship is, at root, one that has drifted off the expected path.

Synonyms: disobedient, headstrong, willful, unruly, fickle

Antonyms: obedient, compliant, docile, submissive, steady