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# wilful

adjective (wilful — UK; willful — US); adverb wilfully; noun wilfulness

«wilful» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A wilful person is stubborn and determined to do what they want, even when told not to. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#m1)
2. (formal, legal) A wilful action is done on purpose, deliberately, especially something bad: wilful damage. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories, a wilful child or princess refuses to obey; in legal and formal language, «wilful damage» or «wilful neglect» is harm done on purpose. Plain words: stubborn, headstrong; on purpose.

### Examples

- The wilful little goat would not come down from the wall. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x1)
- She was a wilful child who always wanted her own way. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x2)
- Breaking the window was wilful damage, not an accident. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x3)
- He wilfully ignored the warning signs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x4)
- The wilful puppy pulled on its lead. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x5)
- The judge said the harm was wilful. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#x6)

### Note

UK, Irish, Australian spelling: wilful (one l in the middle); US spelling: willful. From «will» (what you want) + «-ful». Similar: stubborn, obstinate. Opposite: obedient; for actions, accidental.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «wilful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wilful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wilful.html) on Mova free.