wilful

adjective (wilful — UK; willful — US); adverb wilfully; noun wilfulness

«wilful» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

A wilful person is stubborn and determined to do what they want, even when told not to. tree →
(formal, legal) A wilful action is done on purpose, deliberately, especially something bad: wilful damage. tree →

In the lessons

In stories, a wilful child or princess refuses to obey; in legal and formal language, «wilful damage» or «wilful neglect» is harm done on purpose. Plain words: stubborn, headstrong; on purpose.

Examples

The wilful little goat would not come down from the wall. tree →
She was a wilful child who always wanted her own way. tree →
Breaking the window was wilful damage, not an accident. tree →
He wilfully ignored the warning signs. tree →
The wilful puppy pulled on its lead. tree →
The judge said the harm was wilful. tree →

Note

UK, Irish, Australian spelling: wilful (one l in the middle); US spelling: willful. From «will» (what you want) + «-ful». Similar: stubborn, obstinate. Opposite: obedient; for actions, accidental.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «wilful» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«wilful» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/wilful/