And it was very curious indeed to see the younger sister's eyes suffused with tears, and something fervently and deeply felt, breaking through the wilfulness of what she said, and striving with it painfully.
Source: tatoeba (4048027)
Wilfulness
Synonyms for "wilfulness" (11 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (3)
Noun(3 words)
Strong matches (3)
Noun(3 words)
Related words (5)
Noun(5 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: cognitive bias, deliberate ignorance, deliberateness, fractiousness, intentionality.
- Sentence evidence is available for wilfulness, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from opengloss, wordnet.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "wilfulness".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "wilfulness"
Keep "wilfulness" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "wilfulness" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "wilfulness", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "wilfulness" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
8 entriesbehavioral characteristiccognitive biasconductignoranceintentionalityintractabilityintractablenesspersonality trait
More specific
6 entrieswillful disobediencewillful ignorancewillful misconductwillful obstinacywillful refusal to knowwillful violation
Collocations
6 entrieswilful neglectwillful blindnesswillful disobediencewillful disregardwillful misconductwillful violation
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
4 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
“I want ye all to know,” she said, with a clearing-up snuff, “dat it’s my will an’ pleasure to go right on doin’ my work jes’ de same; an’, Missis, please, I’ll allers put three eggs in de crullers, now; an’ I won’t turn de wash-basin down in de sink, but hang it jam-up on de nail; an’ I won’t pick up chips in a milk-pan, ef I’m in ever so big a hurry;—I’ll do eberyting jes’ as ye tells me. Now you try me an’ see ef I won’t!” / Candace here alluded to some of the little private wilfulnesses which she had always obstinately cherished as reserved rights, in pursuing domestic matters with her mistress.
Source: wiktionary
Now Redworth believed in the soul of Diana. For him it burned, and it was a celestial radiance about her, unquenched by her shifting fortunes, her wilfulnesses and, it might be, errors.
Source: wiktionary
If ever I write again, in the sense of producing artistic work, there are just two subjects on which and through which I desire to express myself: one is “Christ as the precursor of the romantic movement in life”: the other is “The artistic life considered in its relation to conduct.” The first is, of course, intensely fascinating, for I see in Christ not merely the essentials of the supreme romantic type, but all the accidents, the wilfulnesses even, of the romantic temperament also.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "wilfulness"?
Closest matches include cognitive bias, deliberate ignorance, deliberateness, fractiousness, intentionality.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "wilfulness"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.