willing
Americanadjective
-
disposed or consenting; inclined.
willing to go along.
- Synonyms:
- minded
-
cheerfully consenting or ready.
a willing worker.
-
done, given, borne, used, etc., with cheerful readiness.
adjective
-
favourably disposed or inclined; ready
-
cheerfully or eagerly compliant
-
done, given, accepted, etc, freely or voluntarily
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of willing
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; see will 2, -ing 2
Explanation
If you're willing to do something, you're agreeable or ready. A willing participant in your play is someone who won't have to be coerced into taking part, but is happy to join you on stage. Imagine that your neighbor asks whether you're willing to feed her cat while she's out of town. If you're open to helping her, perhaps even enthusiastic about spending time with a friendly cat, you're willing. Someone who's not willing would have to be persuaded or forced to do it. You can also use this adjective to mean "readily or enthusiastically done," as in the willing support you offer your best friend when she runs for class president.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They are also due to take part in a videoconference meeting with Kyiv's allies -- the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" which includes Britain, France and Germany.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
A meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing was also held on Tuesday, with many leaders dialling in to Kyiv.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
On Thursday, the French president will host a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing – a grouping of allies of Ukraine.
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025
He followed that in 2010 with the Peabody Award-winning “If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise.”
From Salon • Jul. 25, 2025
Willing himself not to, he raised the book to his nostrils and inhaled.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
