Meaning & use
headstrong
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Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Determined to do what you want and unwilling to take advice.
Grammar: Can come before or after the noun: a headstrong teenager, she is headstrong.
Patterns
- headstrong and something
Their headstrong daughter ignored every warning and went anyway.
He was too headstrong to ask for directions.
As a headstrong young woman, she refused to follow her family's plans.
Word forms
| comparative | more headstrong |
|---|---|
| superlative | most headstrong |
Common combinations
- headstrong child
- A headstrong child can be hard to persuade.
- headstrong and impulsive
- The young prince was headstrong and impulsive.
- headstrong teenager
- She was a headstrong teenager who loved to argue.
- headstrong attitude
- His headstrong attitude caused trouble at work.
- proud and headstrong
- The heroine is proud and headstrong.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stubborn
- Stubborn means refusing to change, whereas headstrong adds an eagerness to pursue your own will.
- willful
- Willful is very close but often suggests deliberate disobedience.
- obstinate
- Obstinate is more formal and suggests dogged refusal to give way.
- strong-minded
- Strong-minded is mostly positive, while headstrong tends to sound critical.
Opposites
Word family
- headstrongness noun
- rare noun for being headstrong
- headstrongly adverb
- in a stubborn, willful way
- strong adjective
- having great power
Commonly confused: headstrong or headlong?
headstrong vs headlong
Headlong means rushing without thinking, as in headlong into danger, while headstrong describes a stubborn character.
Practice
The ___ girl ignored her coach's advice and insisted on doing it her own way.
Choose one answer.
Headstrong means stubbornly following one's own will. Helpful, hesitant and humble all contradict ignoring advice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “headstrong”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.