Definition

1. Noun:
   • The quality or state of being perverse; deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in an unreasonable or unacceptable way, often contrary to what is expected or desired. It refers to a stubborn inclination to go against what is right, reasonable, or normal.
   • Contrariness; the trait of being difficult to handle or overcome. It implies a willful resistance to guidance, discipline, or correction.

Usage

• Perverseness is used to describe a person's character or a specific instance of stubborn, contrary behavior. It often carries a negative connotation, suggesting irrationality or a deliberate choice to be difficult.
• It is a formal or literary term, more common in written analysis than in everyday conversation.

Examples

• The child's perverseness was evident when he refused to wear a coat in the freezing rain, simply because he was told to.
• She was frustrated by the sheer perverseness of the bureaucracy, which seemed designed to obstruct rather than help.
• His argument was not based on logic but on pure perverseness, a desire to contradict everyone in the room.

Advanced Usage

• "Through sheer perverseness...": This phrase is used to emphasize that an action is done for no other reason than stubborn contrariness.
  • Through sheer perverseness, he voted against the proposal he had originally suggested.

Variants and Related Words

• Perversity (n): Often used interchangeably with , meaning the same quality of being perverse. (e.g., )
• Perverse (adj): Describing a person or action that shows perverseness. (e.g., )
• Contrariness (n): A close synonym, emphasizing a disposition to oppose or resist.
• Obstinacy (n): Stubbornness, but not necessarily with the connotation of deliberate deviation from what is good or reasonable.

Synonyms

• Contrariness: A tendency to oppose or resist.
• Willfulness: Deliberate, stubborn determination.
• Obduracy: Stubborn refusal to change one's opinion or course of action.
• Intransigence: Unwillingness to change one's views or to agree.

Antonyms

• Compliance: The action or fact of complying with a wish or command.
• Amenability: Willingness to cooperate or be persuaded.
• Reasonableness: The quality of being based on good sense.

Idioms and Phrases

• "To do something out of perverseness": To do something specifically because it is contrary or unreasonable.
  • He quit his job out of perverseness, just when he was due for a promotion.
• "A streak of perverseness": A persistent trait of being contrary in someone's character.
  • For all his charm, he had a streak of perverseness that could be infuriating.

Noun

1. deliberately deviating from what is good
   • there will always be a few people who, through macho perversity, gain satisfaction from bullying and terrorism
2. deliberate and stubborn unruliness and resistance to guidance or discipline