willfulness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Here, Ariel’s willfulness stems from a deep curiosity about the world on land and a hunger to see it for herself.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2023

When Lucas’s actions offend the people around him, the priest’s motivation seems to be sheer willfulness, not spiritual conviction.

From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2023

It’s a hard and perilous excursion, one made increasingly more difficult by Lucas, whose self-confidence — inborn or instilled — rapidly hardens into dangerous willfulness.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2023

She is as much of a royal as she is a would-be general, skilled at riding her dragons and standing up to her dangerous uncle Daemon, who appreciates her willfulness.

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2022

My grandfather, whom everyone called a saint, pampered her in everything and tolerated her willfulness, so that the saying among the family was that Papito was so good, "he pees holy water."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez