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# wilful

«wilful» in Mova's school dictionary: **stubborn and determined to do what they want, even when…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

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

### meaning for a pupil

1) A wilful person is stubborn and determined to do what they want, even when told not to. [tree →](https://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/#m2)

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

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «wilful» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wilful/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.