1
: following one's own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations : ungovernable
a wayward child
2
: following no clear principle or law : unpredictable
3
: opposite to what is desired or expected : untoward
wayward fate
waywardly
adverb
waywardness
noun
Examples of wayward in a Sentence
parents of a wayward teenager
had always been the most wayward of their three children
Recent Examples on the Web
Our walk was a saunter, a delightful, wayward, exploratory street haunting, to use Virginia Woolf’s term for the adventure and discovery of walking in the city.
—
Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Limit any pruning to removing dead wood or truly wayward branches.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 24 May 2025
But in the 25th minute, the Blades went ahead when Gustavo Hamer poached the ball from a wayward Sunderland corner, scampered upfield and found Campbell who chipped the ball into the net.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
Whale advocates worried the wayward whales might linger too long in the much warmer Gulf of America, formerly called the Gulf of Mexico.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wayward
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Limit any pruning to removing dead wood or truly wayward branches.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 24 May 2025
But in the 25th minute, the Blades went ahead when Gustavo Hamer poached the ball from a wayward Sunderland corner, scampered upfield and found Campbell who chipped the ball into the net.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
Whale advocates worried the wayward whales might linger too long in the much warmer Gulf of America, formerly called the Gulf of Mexico.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wayward
Cite this Entry
“Wayward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wayward. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wayward
adjective
way·ward
ˈwā-wərd 
1
: tending to do as one pleases : disobedient
wayward children
2
: not following a rule or regular course of action
waywardly
adverb
waywardness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share