unwilling

[ uhn-wil-ing ]

/ ʌnˈwɪl ɪŋ /

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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.

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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. 2022

How to use unwilling in a sentence

Although there’s widespread support for more diversity in education, contracting and public employment, most voters were unwilling to take this step.
Morning Report: Council Prez Race Reviving Some 2018 Tensions|Voice of San Diego|November 25, 2020|Voice of San Diego
There were evacuation orders in place for some half a million people across Louisiana and Texas, but as is always the case during severe weather events, some residents were unwilling or unable to relocate.
Hurricane Laura is the strongest storm to hit Louisiana in more than a century|Sara Chodosh|August 28, 2020|Popular-Science
That means, for example, it could take a while for unemployed workers to find new jobs, if the businesses that managed to weather the crisis are unwilling or unable to quickly scale up to where they were before the recession.
Even With A Vaccine, The Economy Could Take Many Months To Return To Normal|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|August 25, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
While more than 90 percent of Simon’s tenants have reopened, foot traffic remains slower than usual and many remain unable or unwilling to pay rent.
America’s Largest Shopping Mall Owner Gets a New Tenant: Itself|Daniel Malloy|August 20, 2020|Ozy

Mental-health patients are often unreliable narrators when it comes to their health—unable or unwilling to identify their symptoms.
Machines can spot mental health issues—if you hand over your personal data|Bobbie Johnson|August 13, 2020|MIT Technology Review
But an absence of niceties nor an unwillingness to conform is not a legitimate cause for impeachment.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent|David Davis|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His unwillingness to marry her and settle down has only increased her fervor.
Miss Piggy Leans In|Erin Cunningham|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the price of bipartisanship in the Obama era at least has been an unwillingness until recently to openly oppose the president.
How AIPAC Botched Its Biggest Fight in Years|Eli Lake|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So the U.S. government is about to run out of money and may announce its unwillingness to meet legal debt obligations.
Shutdown? What Shutdown? It’s Time to Buy U.S. Government Bonds!|Daniel Gross|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
An unwillingness to process economic failure condemned it to a slower-than-normal recovery.
Japan’s Fiscal Crossroads: Will Abenomics Mean Tougher Changes?|Daniel Gross|July 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If you exhibit any modest unwillingness, they laugh at you, and perhaps two or three of them will come in to rally Monsieur.
Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808|Lt-Col. Pinkney
How jealously these were guarded appears also in the unwillingness to multiply oaths of office.
A short history of Rhode Island|George Washington Greene
In this he doubtless was influenced chiefly by his unwillingness to miss a battle, especially against such great numerical odds.
The Life of Nelson, Vol. I (of 2)|A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan
The commander watched them, on his face the blankness of unwillingness to believe.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
If he had shown any unwillingness they would have pushed their way in.
The Highgrader|William MacLeod Raine

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

Origin of unwilling

OTHER WORDS FROM unwilling

Words related to unwilling

How to use unwilling in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for unwilling

Derived forms of unwilling