WILLING • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Willing

Translators

Dictionaries

Courses

Other

Home

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/wˈɪlɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Will v. t. (past & past part. willed; pres. part. willing)

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree. "What she will to do or say." "By all law and reason, that which the Parliament will not, is no more established in this kingdom." "Two things he (God) willeth, that we should be good, and that we should be happy."

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order. (Obs. or R.) "They willed me say so, madam." "Send for music, And will the cooks to use their best of cunning To please the palate." "As you go, will the lord mayor... To attend our further pleasure presently."

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

Will v. i. To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire. "And behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus... touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean." Note: This word has been confused with will, v. i., to choose, which, unlike this, is of the weak conjugation.

Will I, nill I, or Will ye, hill ye, or Will he, nill he, whether I, you, or he will it or not; hence, without choice; compulsorily; commonly abbreviated to willy nilly. "If I must take service willy nilly." "Land for all who would till it, and reading and writing will ye, nill ye."

Will v. i. To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree. "At Winchester he lies, so himself willed." "He that shall turn his thoughts inward upon what passes in his own mind when he wills." "I contend for liberty as it signifies a power in man to do as he wills or pleases."

adjective

Willing adj.

Free to do or to grant; having the mind inclined; not opposed in mind; not choosing to refuse; disposed; not averse; desirous; consenting; complying; ready. "Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." "With wearied wings and willing feet." "(Fruit) shaken in August from the willing boughs."

Received of choice, or without reluctance; submitted to voluntarily; chosen; desired. "(They) are held, with his melodious harmony, In willing chains and sweet captivity."

Spontaneous; self-moved. (R.) "No spouts of blood run willing from a tree."

See images of 'Willing'

Etymology of 'Willing'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Willing" Quotes from Famous Books

... their columns everything but news in true sense, and there could be none of that in connection with the Montalais affair until either Andre Duchemin had been arrested or the jewels recovered from the real thief or thieves. And Lanyard was human enough to be almost as willing to have the first happen as the last, if it were not given to him to be the prime factor ...

— Alias The Lone Wolf • Louis Joseph Vance

... would take to pass through. There were no lady helpers in those days, and he was at his wits' end to know where to find the staff. Could any of us be spared? None of us could, as we were understaffed already, but Lieutenant Franklin put it to us and said if we were willing to undertake the canteen, as well as our hospital work, which would mean an average of only five hours sleep in the twenty-four—she had no objection. There was no time to get fresh Y.M.C.A. workers from England with the delay of passports, ...

— Fanny Goes to War • Pat Beauchamp

... be your friends. Here they are; they ask nothing from you in return, rather they are forward to labour in your behalf; it will be their pleasure to bear the brunt of battle in voluntary service. With them, God willing, you will gain vast territory; you will recover what was once your forefathers'; you will win for yourself new lands; and not lands only, but horses many, and of men a multitude, and many a fair dame besides. You will not need to seize upon them in robber fashion; it is your ...

— Anabasis • Xenophon

... 1907 a printing press was founded by the Peasants' party at Zagreb, and those who gave their money for this cause were, to a great extent, illiterate. The people are groping towards the light, and they are willing to be told by those they trust that they have much to learn as to the nature of the light. Republicanism was fanned into flame by Radi['c]'s imprisonment and other causes, so that he says he is uncertain whether he can now persuade them to modify their demands. But if he tells them that ...

— The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 2 • Henry Baerlein

... had a vision of his mother, sitting very upright, on a Sunday evening, reading Dr. Tillotson's sermons in the best parlour at Salem; then he swung round on the girl and caught both her hands in his. "Yes, there is," he cried, "if you are willing. Polixena, ...

— The Descent of Man and Other Stories • Edith Wharton

More quotes...