Will

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English

Noun

Will (plural Wills)
  1. (archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)
    He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
  2. 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.
  3. One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
    Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
  4. (archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ii:
      I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].
  5. The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
    Most creatures have a will to live.
  6. A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.

Notes

  • Can be said to be strong, free, independent, etc.

Derived terms

Verb

Will (third-person singular simple present Wills, present participle Willing, simple past and past participle Willed)

  1. (obsolete) To wish, desire.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.
  3. (transitive) To try to make (something) happen by using one's will (intention).
    All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
  4. (transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).
    He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.

Synonyms

Verb

- (third-person singular simple present will, present participle willing, simple past would, past participle -)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To wish, desire (something).
    • 1944, FJ Sheed, translating St. Augustine, Confessions:
      Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt.
  2. (obsolete, intransitive) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew XXVI:
      the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe?
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy:
      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 truth."
  3. To habitually do (a given action).
    • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 28:
      As young men will, I did my best to appear suave and sophisticated.
    • 2009, Stephen Bayley, The Telegraph, 24 Sep 09:
      How telling is it that many women will volunteer for temporary disablement by wearing high heeled shoes that hobble them?
  4. To choose to (do something), used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive).
  5. (auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, formerly with some implication of volition, especially in first-person. Compare shall.
    • William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Or What You Will, act IV:
      Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink and paper : as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.
    • Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo, chapter LXXIII:
      “I will rejoin you, and we will fly ; but from this moment until then, let us not tempt Providence, Morrel; let us not see each other; it is a miracle, it is a providence that we have not been discovered; if we were surprised, if it were known that we met thus, we should have no further resource.”
  6. To be able to, to have the capacity to.
    Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.

Notes

  • Historically, will was used in the simple future sense only in the second and third person, while shall was used in the first person. Today, that distinction is almost entirely lost, and the verb takes the same form in all persons and both numbers. Similarly, in the intent sense, will was historically used with the second and third person, while shall was reserved for the first person.
  • Historically, the present tense is will and the past tense is would.
  • See the usage note at shall.
  • Early Modern English had a past participle would which is now obsolete.

See also

Verbs for Will

(document)

abide by—; attest to—; comply with—; contest—; direct in—; discharge—; dispute—; evidence—; execute—; file—; invalidate—; negate—; nullify—; observe—; probate—; seal—; set aside—; stipulate in—; witness —; wrangle over—; —assigns; —bequeaths; —bestows upon; —confers on; —consigns; —contributes to; —declares; —decrees; — discloses; —dispenses; —disposes of; —doles out; —endows; —enriches; —entrusts with- —estranges; —grants; —invests; —metes out; —restores; —settles; —subsidizes; — transfers.

Adjectives for Will

(general)

passionless; individual; vulgar; overmastering; ambitious; cheerful; irresistible; unstable; grumbling; ill; intense; fiery; gracious; incorporated; inexorable; virtuous; devilish; firm-set; indomitable; unconquerable; holy; rational; never-daunted; vigorous; strenuous; inscrutable; powerful; regenerate; hindering; sturdy; unreined; invincible; tyrant; fallible; tormenting; idiotic; uncontrolled; dauntless; overruling; nerveless; natural; arbitrary; potent; genuine; good; lordly; sublime; basic; universal; arch-imperial; opposing; mutual; imperious; cruel; incorruptible; sensory; sovereign; sanguine; self-determined; undivided; sacred; honest; expressive; tremendous; lawless; clearly-expressed; tempered; despotic; tyrannic; benumbed; entangled; tendril-like; royal; imperative; imminent; unrelaxing; gracious.

Verbs for Will

accede to—; annihilate—; assert—; bend to —; blind—; blunt—; control—; curb—; effect—; energize—; enforce—; exercise—; express—; flout—; harden—; impose—; ignore—; liberate—; mold to—; obey—; oppose—; perform—; restore—; subject to—; subjugate—; subordinate—; weaken—; work—; yield to—; —s clash; —moves; — prevails; indulge—.

Thesaurus

add a codicil, aim, alternativity, ambition, animus, aplomb, appetite, ardor, aspiration, assurance, attested copy, behest, bequeath, bequeathal, bequest, bidding, character, choice, choose, choose to, choosing, co-optation, co-option, codicil, command, commandment, commitment, conclude, concupiscence, confidence, control, counsel, crave, curiosity, decide, decidedness, decision, decisiveness, decree, dedication, definiteness, desideration, desideratum, design, desire, determinateness, determination, determine, determinedness, devise, devotion, dictate, dictation, direct order, discipline, discretion, disposition, drive, eagerness, earnestness, effect, election, entail, execute a will, fancy, fantasy, first choice, fix, fixed purpose, fixity of purpose, fortitude, free choice, free will, function, hand down, hand on, hankering, hest, hope, horme, idea, imperative, inclination, inheritance, intellectual curiosity, intendment, intent, intention, iron will, leave, legacy, legate, libido, like, liking, longing, lust for learning, make a bequest, make a will, meaning, mind, moral courage, moral fiber, motive, need, nisus, obstinacy, order, pass on, passion, perseverance, persistence, pick, pining, plan, please, pleasure, pleasure principle, point, poise, power, preference, preoption, probate, project, proposal, prospectus, purpose, purposefulness, relentlessness, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, resolvedness, restraint, sake, say-so, seal, see fit, selection, self-command, self-control, self-discipline, self-government, self-mastery, self-possession, self-restraint, self-will, seriousness, settle, sexual desire, sincerity, single-mindedness, special order, strength, strength of mind, strength of purpose, striving, study, take a resolution, temper, tenacity, testament, the pick, think fit, think good, think proper, thirst for knowledge, total commitment, transmit, urge, velleity, view, volition, want, wanting, will and bequeath, will and pleasure, will of iron, will power, will to, willpower, wish, wish fulfillment, wishes, word, word of command, yearning

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English wille, from Old English willa (“mind, will, determination, purpose, desire, wish, request, joy, delight, pleasure”) (compare verb willian), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)welǝ- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 2, below.

Etymology 2

From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan, wyllan (“to will, be willing, wish, desire, be used to, to be about to”), from Proto-Germanic *wiljanan (“to desire, wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)welǝ- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch willen, Low German willen, German wollen, Swedish vilja, Latin velle (“wish”, v). It is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.

Translations

Noun

intent or volition
legal document
American football: weak side backliner

Verb

To bequeath
to wish strongly

See also

Verb

indicating future action

Statistics

German

Verb

will

  1. First-person singular present of wollen.
  2. Third-person singular present of wollen.

Pronunciation

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