willies
Americannoun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of willies
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; origin obscure; cf. -s 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But upon closer interrogation, the whole thing gave me the willies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
The veg sandwich, in which a salty and steroidal oyster mushroom subs for the bird, just gives me the willies.
From Washington Post • Jul. 5, 2022
Granted, discovering that her superfan collected one of her toenails does give the otherwise unflappable spirit a serious case of the willies.
From Salon • Dec. 29, 2021
Using conventional wisdom, the Cardinals were not supposed to risk the first pick in the 2019 draft on the 5-foot-10 Kyler Murray, the type of undersized scrambler who gives old-school football types the willies.
From New York Times • Oct. 6, 2021
He thought of Ginny and her doll, both of which had given him the willies when he arrived, but now he kind of understood why she had that doll.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
