willingly
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of willingly
First recorded before 900; equivalent to willing ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
If you do something willingly, you're perfectly happy to do it. Invite your friends to join you for hot fudge sundaes, your treat, and they'll willingly come along. When a person acts willingly, they are doing something of their own free will — in other words, they're glad to do it. Sometimes it's a no-brainer: you'll willingly jump in your aunt's waiting car when she offers to drive you home from school on a rainy day. At other times, doing something willingly is a marker of your good nature, like when you willingly step in to help your friend move.
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.
“If you are lucky enough,” she said, “you will be devastated when they die. Willingly entering that feels gutsy, but what else could you choose?”
From Washington Post • Jan. 3, 2018
Willingly drowning in Belinda Becker’s soulful vibes at Joe’s Pub in the early 2000s.
From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2017
"Willingly living with a wild animal, but one with thumbs who can steal your money and hurt you emotionally."
From The Verge • Aug. 30, 2016
Willingly or otherwise, regular Saturday afternoon tourists were engulfed as the parade meandered to the shores of the Mississippi.
From The Guardian • Jan. 18, 2016
"Willingly, willingly," cried Pelisson, to whom all the last words spoken had been a relief.
From The Huguenot: (Volumes I-III) A Tale of the French Protestants. by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
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.
