unwilling

[ uhn-wil-ing ]

/ ʌnˈwɪl ɪŋ /

SEE MORE 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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

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

Related formsun·will·ing·ly, adverbun·will·ing·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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 Formsunwillingly, 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