froward
/ˈfɹəʊ.(w)əd/
"froward" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“froward” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an evil disposition.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | froward |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfɹəʊ.(w)əd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “froward” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for froward is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɹəʊ.(w)əd/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an evil disposition.".
froward has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English froward, fraward, equivalent to fro + -ward. Compare Old English fromweard, framweard (“turned away, having the back turned”). The correct English form is froward, spelled F-R-O-W-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1Disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an evil disposition.
Etymology
From Middle English froward, fraward, equivalent to fro + -ward. Compare Old English fromweard, framweard (“turned away, having the back turned”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “froward”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-R-O-W-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɹəʊ.(w)əd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.