Meaning & use
Perverseness
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The quality of being deliberately contrary, unreasonable, or determined to act against what is expected or sensible.
See it in a sentence
Out of sheer perverseness, he argued the opposite of what he actually believed.
Her perverseness in refusing help, even when she clearly needed it, frustrated her friends.
A note on using this word
Edgar Allan Poe explored this trait famously in his essay 'The Imp of the Perverse,' describing the human urge to act against one's own interest.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
reasonableness
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