What does wilful mean?
Wilful means deliberately chosen and intentionally carried out, especially when the action is unreasonable, obstructive, or knowingly wrongful. It can also describe a person who persists stubbornly despite advice or resistance. The word is particularly common in legal and institutional contexts, as in wilful damage, wilful neglect, and wilful misconduct, where it emphasizes responsibility and distinguishes deliberate conduct from an accident or mistake. In less formal use, wilful often conveys determination tinged with stubbornness or defiance. Although it remains the traditional British spelling and appears in some US legal writing, willful is the usual US spelling. Wilful is useful because it identifies not only intention but also the deliberate quality of a choice: what happened was not merely the result of chance, negligence, or circumstances, but something a person knowingly decided to do.
adjectiveDeliberately intended, especially when an action is unreasonable, obstructive, or knowingly wrongful. It can also describe someone who is stubbornly committed to a particular course of action.
- Deliberately intended, especially when the action is unreasonable, obstructive, or knowingly wrongful.
- Stubbornly committed to a course of action despite advice, resistance, or consequences.
"Her wilful refusal to cooperate made the inquiry more difficult."
"The tenant's wilful failure to maintain the property resulted in a substantial damages award."
"With a wilful grin, the child ignored her brother's request to share the last biscuit."
A wilful act is not merely something that happened; it is something someone chose.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wilful come from?
The adjective dates from the early 17th century and was formed in English from will, meaning intention or resolve, together with the suffix -ful. The underlying will is the same root found in willing, willingly, and unwillingness. The alternative US spelling willful represents the same English formation rather than a distinct etymological development.
Related word forms
How wilful is actually used
In British English and Commonwealth usage, wilful is the conventional spelling; willful is standard in the US. The word often has a negative or legal implication, but in less formal contexts it can simply describe stubborn determination.
Easily confused with wilful
Willful is the standard US spelling, while wilful is the traditional British spelling; both have the same meaning.
Wilful means deliberate or intentional, whereas woeful means deeply unhappy or unfortunate.