nill

[ nil ]

/ nɪl /

Archaic.

Save This Word!

verb (used without object), nilled, nill·ing.

to be unwilling: will he, nill he.

verb (used with object), nilled, nill·ing.

to refuse or reject.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

Meet Grammar Coach

Origin of nill

before 900; Middle English nillen,Old English nyllan, contraction of phrase ne willan; see no¹, will¹, willy-nilly

Sir, said Epinegris, is that the rule of you errant knights for to make a knight to joust, will he or nill?
Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume II (of II)|Thomas Malory
Will you nill you, the men-at-arms will follow me to victory!
Joan of Arc|Laura E. Richards
Count upward from the bottom of the second column, and the 46th word is “nill he,” so printed for concealment.
The Little Cryptogram|J. Gilfin Pyle
Will I, nill I, the ineffable thing has tied me to him; tows me with a cable I have no knife to cut.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville

The chances are his mind will fly off, will-he-nill-he, to some utterly different matter.
Castle Richmond|Anthony Trollope