What does frowardness mean?
Frowardness names the quality of being froward — that is, perverse, contrary, and willfully resistant to guidance or authority. A person marked by frowardness does not merely disagree; they seem inclined by disposition to take the opposite path, refusing instruction out of obstinacy rather than reasoned conviction. The word belongs chiefly to the language of earlier eras: it appears throughout the King James Bible, where prophets and psalmists denounce the frowardness of the wicked, and in classic literature and sermons. Its connotation is uniformly negative, suggesting moral crookedness as well as mere stubbornness — a heart bent away from what is right. Today the word survives mainly in religious and scholarly contexts, having been supplanted in ordinary speech by terms such as contrariness, perversity, or willfulness. It remains worth knowing both for reading historical and biblical texts intelligently and for its striking near-twin spelling with forward, which trips up even careful modern readers.
nounFrowardness is the quality of being contrary, willfully difficult, or stubbornly disobedient; it denotes a perverse and uncooperative disposition.
- A perverse, contrary, or willfully disobedient disposition or behavior.
"The prophet rebuked the people for the frowardness of their hearts."
"The child's frowardness tried the patience of every teacher in the school."
"Scripture repeatedly warns against the frowardness of a deceitful mouth."
Plural use is vanishingly rare; the noun normally appears as a singular mass-like quality, so no established plural form exists.
Froward looks like a typo of forward — and for centuries readers have fallen for exactly that trick.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of frowardness
Frowardness derives from froward, an adjective formed in Middle English from the Old Norse-derived adverb 'fro' (meaning 'away') combined with the directional suffix '-ward'. The compound literally means 'turned away', hence its sense of a disposition turned away from what is right or expected. It developed as a negative counterpart to forward ('turned onward') and toward ('turned to'). Froward itself fell out of common use after the seventeenth century, and the noun frowardness survives today almost solely through its prominence in the King James Bible and other traditional religious writing.
Related word forms
How frowardness is actually used
Frowardness is archaic and now appears almost exclusively in religious texts, especially the King James Bible, literary works of earlier centuries, and formal or devotional writing. It carries an entirely negative connotation. In modern everyday English, words like contrariness or perverseness have replaced it.
Easily confused with frowardness
Forward means directed ahead or ahead of schedule, whereas froward (the lookalike) means contrary and willfully disobedient.