On the street you can often hear a young mother scolding her son for being wayward. The little boy is crying: he does not understand such complex words. With age, the meaning of the word becomes clearer, but for the rest of his life a person will have the notion that wayward is bad. Is it really? Let's find out.
Meaning of the word
To understand what is good and what is bad, you need to know the very meaning of the word. Wayward is self-willed, stubborn.
It seems that the meaning of the dictionary is not very pleasant, but it's taken out of context. Here is an example from the literature. I. K. Arkhipova wrote in her work “Music of Life”: “This girl from the people was spontaneous, wayward, did not tolerate any violence against her heart, therefore she was honest in her feelings.”
Now it doesn't seem so bad, but one example is not enough, let's look at the second. L. Nikulin in the book "Moscow Dawns" writes "I did not have enough patience to work with this wayward and capricious actress".
Wayward is bad orokay?
Looking at two examples, it's hard to draw a conclusion. But already on the basis of the above, one can understand that there is nothing wrong with the fact that a person has set a goal for himself and is moving towards it. Of course, many people will not like this line of behavior. After all, not everyone can find the strength to go their own way. Therefore, they will straighten up a person and say that he is too wayward. Often such a person can hear the word egoist in his address. It is not a synonym for the concept that we are considering, but in their meaning the words are close. Few people love self-confident people, with a clearly defined life position and their own opinion, which contradicts the public. That is why many consider waywardness almost a sin. Yes, of course, sometimes wayward people can overstep the bounds of what is permitted, one has only to remember Ivan the Terrible. But in our time, it is almost impossible to meet such despots, therefore, the manifestation of willfulness in this form does not exist.
Synonyms for the word
Say about a person who, in your opinion, is wayward, you can use synonyms: willful, stubborn, rebellious, capricious, flighty, indomitable.
But still, you need to understand that these concepts have other shades. The word we are analyzing consists of two parts. The first means "one's own" and the second - "temper". This is what must be taken into account when choosing synonyms for the word wayward. The best analogue is self-thinking or self-will. These words are closest in meaning. It can also be considered a synonym for the wordfreethinking. After all, it is a person for whom public opinion is not in the first place, who can think a little differently. Most often, such people are geniuses, because their imagination is not chained to the frame, and thought can develop freely, without encountering any obstacles.
What is a wayward gift?
With a little understanding of the concepts, you can start digging deeper. We have already found out that a wayward is a person who is used to going his own way, not being afraid to stumble and not looking around at others. Now let's see what other meanings this adjective can be used in. Here is a stable combination of “wayward gift”, what does it mean? Well, firstly, most often the donee is not too familiar with the person who is trying to present him with a present. Secondly, it is not a fact that such a gift will be pleasant. Most likely, such a surprise will only bring disappointment. We all remember the tale of Snow White from childhood.
So, the apple that the witch gave to the main character can be considered a wayward gift. From this we can conclude that a wayward gift not only does not bring happiness, but sometimes can do very much harm. Moreover, it is worth noting that neither the donee nor the person who gives the gift receive pleasure from such a present.
A wayward and infantile person, because of his inconstancy, of course, can also please his friend or girlfriend. Let's look at an example. In today's world, there are manywayward men. These are individuals who have achieved a good position in society, bought a car, a house, and now, without embarrassment, litter with money. These men often find themselves young lovers who will be bombarded with gifts every day. But such favors can quickly end, and wayward gifts can change dramatically and not for the better at any moment.
