Greek word · G829

αὐθάδης

authadēs

self-willed

Self-pleasing, stubborn, arrogant. Someone who does what he likes, takes no account of others and will not be corrected. The word is formed from autos ('self') and the root of hēdomai ('to please').

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

αὐθάδης, -ες

(αὐτος, ἥδομαι), [in LXX: Genesis 49:3, 7 (עַז), Proverbs 21:24 (יָהִיר)* ;]

self-pleasing, arrogant: Titus 1:7, 2 Peter 2:10 (Cremer, 654).†

SYN.: φίλαυτος (see Tr., Syn., § xciii) (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Peter 2:10

Range of meaning: Self-pleasing, stubborn, arrogant. Someone who does what he likes, takes no account of others and will not be corrected. The word is formed from autos ('self') and the root of hēdomai ('to please').
Against the English: KJV/BSB/WEB 'self-willed' is accurate but old-fashioned. NIV 'arrogant' and ESV 'willful' catch different sides of it. YLT 'self-complacent' brings out the self-pleasing root.
Used elsewhere in the period: Aristotle's ethical writings describe the authadēs as someone who lives to please himself and ignores others. In the Greek Old Testament, Gen 49:7 uses it of the fierce, unrestrained anger of Simeon and Levi, and Prov 21:24 of the arrogant scoffer. Titus 1:7 says an overseer must not be authadēs.

From the study of Titus 1:7

Range of meaning: 'Self-pleasing' (autos 'self' + hēdomai 'to please'): stubborn, arrogant, headstrong, a man who will not listen and does what suits him. Greek ethics treated it as a social vice of harshness and disregard for others.
Against the English: KJV and NASB have 'self-willed', WEB 'self-pleasing', YLT 'self-pleased'. ESV and NLT have 'arrogant', NIV 'overbearing'. Each catches part of it: the word joins an inward love of one's own way to an outward harshness toward others.
Used elsewhere in the period: Aristotle (Eudemian Ethics, and the Magna Moralia attributed to him) treats authadeia as the vice opposite fawning, with dignity as the virtue between them. LXX Gen 49:3, 7 uses it of Reuben and of Simeon and Levi's fierce anger. Prov 21:24 LXX. 2 Pet 2:10 uses it of false teachers.

Where it appears

Titus · 1

Titus 1:7 αὐθάδη, self-willed,

As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

Here: Someone who pleases only himself: stubborn, overbearing, deaf to others. It is a bad trait for someone who manages what belongs to another.

2 Peter · 1

2 Peter 2:10 αὐθάδεις, self-willed,

Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

Here: Someone who pleases himself and will not be told anything by anyone. Arrogant, headstrong.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.