wont

¹ American  

[wawnt, wohnt, wuhnt] / wɔnt, woʊnt, wʌnt /

adjective

1. accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive).

   He was wont to rise at dawn.

   Synonyms:

   wonted

   Antonyms:

   unaccustomed

---

noun

1. custom; habit; practice.

   It was her wont to walk three miles before breakfast.

   Synonyms:

   use

verb (used with object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to accustom (a person), as to a thing.

   That summer wonted me to a lifetime of early rising.

2. to render (a thing) customary or usual (usually used passively).

verb (used without object)

wont, wont, wonted, wonting

1. to be wont.

won't ² American  

[wohnt, wuhnt] / woʊnt, wʌnt /

1. contraction of will not:

   He won't see you now.

---

wont ¹ British  

/ wəʊnt /

adjective

1. (postpositive) accustomed (to doing something)

   he was wont to come early

---

noun

1. a manner or action habitually employed by or associated with someone (often in the phrases as is my wont, as is his wont, etc)

verb

1. (when tr, usually passive) to become or cause to become accustomed

won't ² British  

/ wəʊnt /

contraction

1. will not

---

Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

• wontless adjective

Etymology

Origin of wont

irst recorded in 1300–50; (adjective) Middle English wont, woned, Old English gewunod, past participle of gewunian “to be used to” ( see won ²); cognate with German gewöhnt; (verb) Middle English, back formation from wonted or wont (past participle); (noun) apparently from conflation of wont (past participle) with obsolete wone “wish” in certain stereotyped phrases

Explanation

A wont is a custom or habit, like my wont to drink at least ten cups of coffee a day. (In this particular example, some people might call my wont an addiction.) Wont is a tricky word, in terms of pronunciation; some people argue it sounds like want, while others insist it's pronounced like won't. Perhaps the confusion over pronunciation explains why this word is used relatively infrequently in everyday speech. It's most people's wont to use a synonym like custom or habit.

Example Sentences

“The market can do anything,” Richard Russell, the author of the Dow Theory Letters, was wont to remind his readers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Liverpool, as is their wont this season, were not to be denied.

From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025

The event was packed and it went on for many hours as his rallies are wont to do.

From Salon • Oct. 28, 2024

As is his wont, Jackson looked to a song to articulate his thoughts: “I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024

I wont have my daughter spied on I wouldn’t have.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner