Meanings
comparative more headstrong · superlative most headstrong
- Determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want.
He was in that headstrong teenage phase when he felt like he knew everything.
1 more example
O, there's nothing to be hoped for from her! ſhe's as headſtrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.
1775 January 17 (first performance), [Richard Brinsley Sheridan], The Rivals, a Comedy. […], London: […] John Wilkie, […], published 1775, →OCLC, Act III, scene iii, page 52
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehabitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishheedstrong
- Englishheadstrong
From Middle English heedstrong, equivalent to head + strong.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian своеволен, вироглав
- своеволен (svoevolen)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- вироглав (viroglav)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Catalan tossut, cabut
- tossutdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- cabutdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Chinese Mandarin 任性
- 任性 (rènxìng)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Czech odhodlaný, tvrdohlavý
- odhodlanýdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- tvrdohlavýdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Danish egenrådig
- egenrådigdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Finnish sisukas, päättäväinen
- sisukasdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- päättäväinendetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
French obstiné
- obstinédetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
German eigensinnig
- eigensinnigdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Greek ισχυρογνώμων
- ισχυρογνώμων (ischyrognómon)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Hindi हठी
- हठी (haṭhī)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Hungarian nyakas, konok
- nyakasdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- konokdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- makacsdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Irish ceanntréan, ceanndána
- ceanntréandetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- ceanndánadetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Italian determinato
- determinatodetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Māori matauaua, upoko mārō
- matauauadetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- upoko mārōdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- taringa pākuradetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Norwegian Bokmål egenrådig
- egenrådigdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Polish uparty, nieustępliwy
- upartydetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- nieustępliwydetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- zawziętydetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Portuguese obstinado
- obstinadodetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Romanian încăpățânat, căpos
- încăpățânatdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- căposdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Russian своенравный
- своенравный (svojenravnyj)determined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Spanish díscolo, desconsiderado
- díscolodetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- desconsideradodetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Swedish egensinnig
- egensinnigdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Turkish dik başlı, dik kafalı
- dik başlıdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
- dik kafalıdetermined to do as one pleases, and not as others want
Cite this entry
headstrong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/headstrong
“headstrong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/headstrong. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “headstrong,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/headstrong.
Source: headstrong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.