Unwilling to obey rules or follow advice; behaving in an unpredictable or rebellious manner.
From Middle English 'awayward,' which combined 'away' and '-ward' (direction suffix). It originally meant 'turned away' but evolved to describe people turned away from proper behavior.
The '-ward' suffix meaning direction is still productive in English—we say 'forward,' 'backward,' 'homeward,' 'awkward' (turned wrong way)—and linguists believe this suffix came from a Proto-Indo-European gesture meaning 'to turn.'
Historically applied asymmetrically to women (sexual/behavioral 'deviation'); men described as 'rebellious' or 'spirited' in same contexts. Gendered moral judgment embedded.
Use 'unpredictable', 'divergent', or 'straying' depending on context. Avoid when moralizing about behavior that wouldn't be judged identically in men.
["unpredictable","divergent","straying"]
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