unwilling

[ uhn-wil-ing ]

/ ʌnˈwɪl ɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unwilling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not willing; reluctant; loath; averse: an unwilling partner in the crime.

opposed; offering resistance; stubborn or obstinate; refractory: an unwilling captive.

Words nearby unwilling

unwell, unwept, unwholesome, unwieldy, unwilled, unwilling, unwincing, unwind, unwinking, unwinnable, unwired

Origin of unwilling

before 900; Old English unwillende (not recorded in ME); see un-¹, willing

OTHER WORDS FROM unwilling

un·will·ing·ly, adverbun·will·ing·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for unwilling

A few years ago, Crowder stopped making the screws because Spinal Solutions was unwilling to pay a fair price, he said.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Obama administration has pulled together a coalition as ineffectual as it is unwilling.
There’s Only One Way to Beat ISIS: Work With Assad and Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In general, Isfahan authorities have been unwilling to speak on the matter.
Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror in Iran|IranWire|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many are unwilling to admit that bigotry has entered the mainstream.
Why Bigotry Persists|Stephen Eric Bronner|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Some actors feel the studios are unwilling to take chances with these huge global revenues by taking risks in casting.
Fear of a Minority Superhero: Marvel's Obsession with White Guys Saving the World|Marlow Stern|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the most part, they were not unwilling to sustain the Turkish Government.
With the Turks in Palestine|Alexander Aaronsohn
We expect to be caught with chaff, like fractious colts coquetting with the halter and secretly not unwilling to be caught.
Unveiling a Parallel|Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Marchant
The East Side insisted on being seen, and I was not unwilling.
Your United States|Arnold Bennett
The pear grows on some of the hawthorns, but it is an unwilling subject on the apple.
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets|Various
He closed Graham's unwilling fingers over the money and skipped away.
The Fortune Hunter|Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for unwilling

unwilling

/ (ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ) /

adjective

unfavourably inclined; reluctant

performed, given, or said with reluctance

Derived forms of unwilling

unwillingly, adverbunwillingness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

unwilling

adjective

Words related to unwilling

Words nearby unwilling

Origin of unwilling

OTHER WORDS FROM unwilling

Examples from the Web for unwilling

British Dictionary definitions for unwilling

adjective

Derived forms of unwilling