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Meaning & use

froward

adjective·Advancedarchaicliterary

Last updated

UK/ˈfrəʊwəd/
US/ˈfroʊwərd/

Meaning

  1. adjectivecomparablearchaicliterary

    Obstinately unwilling to do what is asked; stubbornly difficult and defiant.

    Grammar: Describes people, usually children or servants in older writing: a froward child.

    Patterns

    • a froward child
    • froward and stubborn

    The froward apprentice refused every instruction his master gave.

    In the old tale, a froward daughter ignores her mother's warnings.

    The preacher scolded the froward and the proud alike.

Word forms

comparativefrowarder
superlativefrowardest

Common combinations

a froward child
The poem describes a froward child who will not obey.
froward heart
The old text warns against a froward heart.
froward spirit
His froward spirit made him unwelcome at court.
froward and proud
She was froward and proud, answering every rebuke with a glare.

Synonyms and how they differ

perverse
Perverse also means stubbornly contrary, but it is still in modern use and can suggest doing the wrong thing on purpose.
obstinate
Obstinate means unwilling to change one's mind, with less of the disobedient tone that froward has.
wayward
Wayward suggests someone hard to control or prone to wander off, a milder and more current word.
refractory
Refractory is formal and means resisting control or authority, often applied to animals or conditions.

Opposites

obedientcompliant

Word family

frowardly adverb
in a stubbornly disobedient way
frowardness noun
the state of being froward
toward preposition
the opposite-meaning source word; froward once meant turned away

Commonly confused: froward or forward?

froward vs forward

Forward means toward the front or ahead; froward is a separate old word for stubborn and disobedient, and the letters are easy to swap.

Practice

In the old story, the ___ boy refused to obey any adult.

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