will

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

Noun

  1. One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
    • Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
  2. The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
    • Most creatures have a will to live.
    • The father chose the name and could change it later at his will. - 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC,...
    • The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the...
  3. One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
    • Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
    • In the first place, although many people wanted nationalisation and it became the will of Parliament, there were many other people who did not want it, have never willingly accepted it, and never will. - 1958 January 5,...
  4. Firmness of purpose, fixity of intent
    • Thus Mill’s case for the claim that happiness is the sole human end, put more carefully, is this: ‘Whatever is desired otherwise than as a means to some end beyond itself, and ultimately to happiness, is desired as...
    • ...surely the link could not have been with Churchill the brilliant, gallant and steadfast wartime leader who, by dint of character, will and language, turned near defeat into victory. - 2015, Dr. Harlan K. Ullman,...

    Synonyms: determination firmness resoluteness resolve

  5. A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.
    • “Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?” - 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well...

    Synonyms: testament last will last will and testament

  6. That which is desired; one's wish.
    • I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...]. - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William...
  7. Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)
    • He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Origin

From Middle English wille, from Old English willa (compare verb willian), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja, Norwegian vilje.

Forms

wills wille

Derived

against someone's will at will bend someone's will bend to one's will bend to someone's will come-o'-will declaration of will employment at will fire at will force of will free will free will theorem goodwill holographic will ill will joint will living will military will mirror will mutual will nuncupative will pick-at-will pour-over will self-will

Verb auxiliary, no past participle

  1. Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall.
    • Do not forget, will you?
    • Will you be doing the shopping this evening? If so, will you do mine too, please?
    • Won't you have another glass of wine? — No, I think I’ll go to bed.
  2. To be able to, to have the capacity to.
    • Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
  3. Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".
    • He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.
    • I can't find my umbrella. I will've left it at home this morning.
    • I’ll kill anybody who touches my car.
  4. To habitually do (a given action).
    • Boys will be boys.
    • People will talk.
    • I will fall in love with the wrong women time and again.
  5. To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation.
    • Will you marry me?
    • What will you drink?
    • I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.
  6. To wish, desire (something).
    • Do what you will.
    • God willed it.
    • If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me. - c. 1450, The Macro Plays:
  7. To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).
    • Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally.
    • the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe? - 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer],...
    • see God's goodwill toward men, hear how generally his grace is proposed, to him, and him, and them, each man in particular, and to all. 1 Tim. ii. 4. "God will that all men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the...
  8. Implying will go.
    • I’ll to England. - c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount,...

Origin

From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan (“to want”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjan, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognates Cognate with Yola ill, weel, well, will, woul, wull (“will”), North Frisian wale, wel (“to want”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian wolle (“to want”), Alemannic German and Central Franconian welle (“to want”), Cimbrian béllan, bölln (“to want”), Dutch willen (“to want”), German wollen (“to want”), Low German wüllen (“to want; will”), Luxembourgish wëllen (“to want”), Yiddish וועלן (veln, “to want”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ville (“to want”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish vilja (“to want”), Jamtish vili (“to want; wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, vilje (“want; will”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wiljan, “to want”); also Latin velle (“wish”, verb), voleō, volo (“to please, to wish; to...

Forms

will willing would no-table-tags glossary wilt willst willest wouldst wouldest - 'll vill weel wil wille woll wyll

Derived

accidents will happen accidents will happen in the best regulated families a drowning man will clutch at a straw a hit dog will holler boys will be boys build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door butter will not melt in someone's mouth by their fruits you will know them cooler heads will prevail cool heads will prevail even a worm will turn faith will move mountains five will get you ten give someone an inch and someone will take a mile heads will roll if you lie with dogs you will get fleas if you will in this essay I will I will yeah kids will be kids longways for as many as will murder will out one will know the reason why only time will tell

Verb Entry 3

  1. To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.
  2. To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).
    • He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
  3. To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.
    • All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
    • They willed me say so, madam. - 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
    • Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate. - c. 1612–1615?, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont, revised by Philip Massinger, “Loves Cure or, The Martial Maid”, in Comedies and...

Origin

From Middle English willen, from Old English willian (“to will”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjōn (“to will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with German Low German willen, German willen. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.

Forms

wills willing willed would

Synonyms

bequeath leave

Related

bequeath going to modal verb nimblewill testament volition voluntary will-fire will o' the wisp

Derived

will on will the good of another