wayward
Behaving badly and hard to control.
wayward in a sentence
- The wayward goat kept escaping through the fence, no matter how often it was mended.
- The wayward shopping trolley refused to steer straight and pulled us into the biscuit shelf.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to wayward?
- Agood
- Bunruly
- Ctame
- Dobedient
Show the answer
B: unruly. The other three mean the opposite of wayward.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to wayward?
- Aobedient
- Bnaughty
- Cunruly
- Dwild
Show the answer
A: obedient. The other three mean nearly the same as wayward.
Words that mean something similar
unruly, wild, naughty
Words that mean the opposite
obedient, good, tame
More words about behaviour & manners
- wholesome: Good for you and healthy.
- yield: To give in and stop fighting, or to produce something like crops.
- adhere: To stick firmly to something, or to follow a rule closely.
- admirable: So good that people look up to it and praise it.
- aggravate: To make a problem worse, or to really annoy someone.
- appease: To calm someone down by giving them what they want.
- assiduous: Working with great care, effort and determination.
- awkward: Uncomfortable and clumsy, or difficult to deal with.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test