headstrong
adjective
Synonyms
- froward
- incontrollable
- intractable
- recalcitrant
- refractory
- uncontrollable
- ungovernable
- unmanageable
- unruly
- untoward
- wayward
- willful
- wilful
Example Sentences
Sophie Mellor, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2022 Vicky was a headstrong tornado of a girl, Marley an avatar of virtue. Mayukh Sen, The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2022 Get lost in Austen's world with this 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that brings beloved characters like the dashing Mr. Knightley and the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet to life. Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 16 July 2022 The headstrong track shows a confident Sevana strolling through her native Jamaica, green outfit matching her lush surroundings. Neena Rouhani, Billboard, 13 June 2022 As a young girl growing up in Stockton, California, Raechyl was headstrong and funny, and loved to learn, according to her mother, Jeri White. Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 10 May 2022 Khaled Sobhy has been called the Richard Williams of squash, and the comparison is not unwarranted: Like Williams, Khaled was a headstrong figure determined to produce champions and at no small sacrifice for all involved. New York Times, 4 May 2022 Their headstrong leader is Jennie Kanematsu-Ross, a tattooed mother of toddlers who grew up in the church. Dan Cryer, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2022 Progressives see him as an experienced and headstrong rulemaker who is not afraid to take a hard line against big banks. Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
headstrong
adjective
headstrong
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- stubborn
- rebellious
- willful
- wayward
- unruly
- uncontrollable
- unmanageable
- recalcitrant
- intractable
- wilful
- naughty
- difficult
- pigheaded
- bullheaded
- ungovernable
- froward
- refractory
- obstinate
- opinionated
- hardheaded
- incorrigible
- intransigent
- incontrollable
- undisciplined
- mulish
- rambunctious
- self-willed
- obdurate
- boisterous
- out of hand
- wild
- untoward
- stiff
- irrepressible
- uncontrolled
- rowdy
- disobedient
- insubordinate
- contrary
- stiff-necked
- unpunished
- perverse
- indocile
- misbehaving
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- obedient
- docile
- tractable
- controllable
- submissive
- manageable
- governable
- compliant
- well-behaved
- placable
- pliable
- responsive
- willing
- receptive
- reasonable
- accepting
- yielding
- persuadable
- trainable
- temperate
Synonyms & Similar Words
- stubborn
- adamant
- steadfast
- opinionated
- obstinate
- hardheaded
- hardened
- willful
- wilful
- intransigent
- bullheaded
- pigheaded
- uncompromising
- obsessive
- unbending
- implacable
- obdurate
- mulish
- unyielding
- self-willed
- inflexible
- pertinacious
- dogged
- determined
- unrelenting
- hard-nosed
- hard
- immovable
- persistent
- self-opinionated
- stiff-necked
- strict
- adamantine
- ossified
- perverse
- tenacious
- relentless
- pat
- defiant
- wayward
- inconvincible
- cantankerous
- stern
- unflinching
- wrongheaded
- rigid
- severe
- resolved
- indomitable
- single-minded
- deaf to reason
- iron
- stouthearted
- disobedient
- unruly
- uncooperative
- hidebound
- mutinous
- inexorable
- insubordinate
- contumacious
- bloody-minded
- recalcitrant
- unmanageable
- intractable
- firm
- invincible
- narrow-minded
- unconquerable
- ungovernable
- anal-retentive
- contrary
- refractory
- hard-line
- froward
- hell-bent
- hard-shelled
- inveterate
- exacting
- insurgent
- cussed
- set
- unregenerate
- confirmed
- demanding
- hard-shell
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- obedient
- submissive
- flexible
- docile
- acquiescent
- compliant
- agreeable
- pliant
- pliable
- amenable
- tractable
- complying
- responsive
- willing
- yielding
- receptive
- reasonable
- accepting
- placable
- relenting
- temperate
- subservient
- persuadable
- slavish
- manageable
- governable
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of headstrong are intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, ungovernable, unruly, and willful. While all these words mean "not submissive to government or control," headstrong suggests self-will impatient of restraint, advice, or suggestion.
The words intractable and headstrong are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, intractable suggests stubborn resistance to guidance or control.
The words recalcitrant and headstrong can be used in similar contexts, but recalcitrant suggests determined resistance to or defiance of authority.
While in some cases nearly identical to headstrong, refractory stresses resistance to attempts to manage or to mold.
The meanings of ungovernable and headstrong largely overlap; however, ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others.
While the synonyms unruly and headstrong are close in meaning, unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior.
In some situations, the words willful and headstrong are roughly equivalent. However, willful implies an obstinate determination to have one's own way.