wayward
/ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/adjective, noun
wayward is spelled W-A-Y-W-A-R-D. The wrong spelling people search most is wayword: about 230 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 37 of all searches for the word. Wayward is an adjective meaning “Given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray”.
How many letters and syllables are in wayward?
| Letters | 7: W-A-Y-W-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, wayword, about 230 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell wayward?
Wayward is spelled W-A-Y-W-A-R-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 37 of the searches for wayward in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is wayward?
Wayward appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wayward?
- /ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/
Wayward has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wayward.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wayward
- more wayward comparative
- most wayward superlative
- waywards plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wayward mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.
- 2
Obstinate, contrary and unpredictable.
- 3
Not on target.
noun
- 1
datedSomeone, especially a young woman or girl, who is wayward.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wayward in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déviant , rebelle |
| German | eigenwillig, eigensinnig, launisch , widerspenstig, unberechenbar, ungeraten |
| Portuguese | desobediente |
| Spanish | díscolo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wayward come from?
Shortening of away + -ward.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).