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• will
  will

  auxiliary verb

  am (is, are, etc.) about or going to.
• Will
  Will

  noun

  a male given name, form of William.

will

¹ American  

[wil] / wɪl /

auxiliary verb

imperative, infinitive, and present participle lacking.

• will,
  present (3rd person singular)
• would
  past

1. am (is, are, etc.) about or going to.

   I will be there tomorrow. She will see you at dinner.

2. am (is, are, etc.) disposed or willing to.

   People will do right.

3. am (is, are, etc.) expected or required to.

   You will report to the principal at once.

4. may be expected or supposed to.

   You will not have forgotten him. This will be right.

5. am (is, are, etc.) determined or sure to (used emphatically).

   You would do it. People will talk.

6. am (is, are, etc.) accustomed to, or do usually or often.

   You will often see her sitting there. He would write for hours at a time.

7. am (is, are, etc.) habitually disposed or inclined to.

   Boys will be boys. After dinner they would read aloud.

8. am (is, are, etc.) capable of; can.

   This tree will live without water for three months.

9. am (is, are, etc.) going to.

   I will bid you “Good night.”

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verb (used with or without object)

imperative, infinitive, and present participle lacking.

• will,
  present (3rd person singular)
• would
  past,  past participle (Obsolete)

1. to wish; desire; like.

   Go where you will.

   Ask, if you will, who the owner is.

will ² American  

[wil] / wɪl /

noun

• wills
  plural

1. the faculty of conscious and deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over one's actions.

   The teacher has chosen by her own will to create a whole new curriculum.

2. power in choosing one's own actions.

   A major factor in success is whether you have have a strong or a weak will.

3. the act or process of using or asserting one's choice; volition.

   My hands are obedient to my will.

   Synonyms:

   choice

4. wish or desire.

   We submit, but it's against our will.

   Synonyms:

   inclination, disposition, pleasure

5. purpose or determination that is often hearty or stubborn; willfulness.

   The first step is to have the will to succeed.

   Synonyms:

   resolution

6. the wish or purpose as carried out, or to be carried out.

   The queen will work her will.

7. disposition, whether good or ill, toward another.

8. Law.

   1. a legal declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of their property or estate after death, usually written and signed by the testator and attested by witnesses.

   2. the document containing a declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of their property.

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verb (used with object)

willed, willing

1. to decide, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of the will.

   He can make it in this industry if he wills it.

   Synonyms:

   determine

2. to purpose, determine on, or elect, by an act of the mind or consciousness.

   If he wills success, he can find it.

3. to give or dispose of (property) by a legal declaration or testament; bequeath or devise.

   Synonyms:

   leave

4. to influence by exerting control over someone's impulses and actions.

   She was willed to walk the tightrope by the hypnotist.

verb (used without object)

willed, willing

1. to exercise the mind or conciousness.

   To will is not enough, one must do.

2. to decide or determine.

   Others debate, but the king wills.

idioms

1. at will,

   1. at one's discretion or pleasure; as one desires.

      to wander at will through the countryside.

   2. at one's disposal or command.

Will ³ American  

[wil] / wɪl /

noun

1. a male given name, form of William.

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will ¹ British  

/ wɪl /

noun

1. the faculty of conscious and deliberate choice of action; volition

2. the act or an instance of asserting a choice

3. 1. the declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death

   2. a revocable instrument by which such wishes are expressed

4. anything decided upon or chosen, esp by a person in authority; desire; wish

5. determined intention

   where there's a will there's a way

6. disposition or attitude towards others

   he bears you no ill will

7. at one's own desire, inclination, or choice

8. heartily; energetically

9. even with the best of intentions

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verb

1. (also intr) to exercise the faculty of volition in an attempt to accomplish (something)

   he willed his wife's recovery from her illness

2. to give (property) by will to a person, society, etc

   he willed his art collection to the nation

3. (also intr) to order or decree

   the king wills that you shall die

4. to choose or prefer

   wander where you will

5. to yearn for or desire

   to will that one's friends be happy

will ² British  

/ wɪl /

verb

1. used as an auxiliary to make the future tense Compare shall

2. used as an auxiliary to express resolution on the part of the speaker

   I will buy that radio if it's the last thing I do

3. used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire

   will you help me with this problem?

4. used as an auxiliary to express compulsion, as in commands

   you will report your findings to me tomorrow

5. used as an auxiliary to express capacity or ability

   this rope will support a load

6. used as an auxiliary to express probability or expectation on the part of the speaker

   that will be Jim telephoning

7. used as an auxiliary to express customary practice or inevitability

   boys will be boys

8. (with the infinitive always implied) used as an auxiliary to express desire: usually in polite requests

   stay if you will

9. whatever you like

10. informal a declaration of willingness to do what is requested

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will More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing will

• against one's will
• at will
• boys will be boys
• heads (will) roll
• murder will out
• of one's own accord (free will)
• shit will hit the fan
• that will do
• time will tell
• truth will out
• when the cat's away, mice will play
• where there's a will
• with a will
• with the best will in the world
• wonders will never cease

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Commonly Confused

See shall.

Synonym Usage

Will, volition refer to conscious choice as to action or thought. Will denotes fixed and persistent intent or purpose: Where there's a will there's a way. Volition is the power of forming an intention or the incentive for using the will: to exercise one's volition in making a decision.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• willer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wills
  plural

Participles

• would
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• will
  simple

Past

• would
  simple

Etymology

Origin of will¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English willen, Old English wyllan; cognate with Dutch willen, German wollen, Old Norse vilja, Gothic wiljan; akin to Latin velle “to wish”

Origin of will²

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun wil(le), Old English wil(l) “will, pleasure,” will(a) “faculty of willing, determination”; cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Old Norse vili, Gothic wilja; verb derivative of the noun; akin to will ¹

Explanation

Will means to want or to choose. If you have free will, you are allowed to choose what you want. If you make a will, you've write down what you want to have happen to your money and your stuff. You may have heard the expression, "Where there's a will, there's a way." It means that if you want something enough, you'll find a way to make it happen. If you impose your will on someone else, you're making them do what you want, as opposed to what they want. If you are willful, you are impulsive and always do what you want. If you will something to happen, you try to make it happen just by the force of your wanting it to––you might will a car to keep running, even as the gas needle sits at empty.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

will Will wills would willed willing

So most audiences will automatically be put into the purposefully uncomfortable position of siding with people they would never see themselves inclined to agree with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

He will play the lead role in the upcoming ITV drama The Party premiering on 11 October.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

But you have no children, and you have already decided to remember your brother in your will, and yet your aunt decided to proffer a version of that request.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Henri Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan will share the prize, worth about $1.2 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Old friends and family will know the truth.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Will JD Vance, who’s been campaigning in Alaska recently?

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

Notorious for his fiery personality, Ditka also took his stardom from field to screen, starring alongside Will Ferrell in “Kicking & Screaming,” in which he played himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Nozell was Parton’s longtime manager and is credited with reviving the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s international touring career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Will it be hard for Jaguar to make the turn from its famously out-there announcements in 2024 to real-world car sales now?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“So what will you do at school now? Will you look for new friends?”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

That war of wills ended with the Emirates ceding control of Bab el-Mandeb — along with the nearby island of Perim, where the Emirates had built a drone airbase — to Saudi Arabia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Our AI afterlife preferences will also start appearing in more wills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Then she began seeing Maslin talking about wills on TikTok.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

If your state allows wills to be registered, consider registering yours.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

At times, I can sense some ten-sion in him as he wills his daughter ahead of the other girl.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

So most audiences will automatically be put into the purposefully uncomfortable position of siding with people they would never see themselves inclined to agree with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

The epistemic mismatch between her idea of what would transpire and the frat brothers’ is truly tragic.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

Then on Thursday US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be livestreamed for the public.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The new report from S&P Dow Jones Indices also puts to rest the argument that AI would lead to a greater percentage of mutual funds beating the market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Together, they built their own cottage and waited to see what the rest of their lives would bring.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Z, international man of mystery, exists because Oliver willed him into being during a March shoutout on “Last Week Tonight.”

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

On a night when his teammates struggled offensively, Brunson willed the Knicks to the series clinching victory, another gritty come-from-behind victory for a team that has made them a trademark.

From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026

But now as a grizzled veteran, and the oldest player on the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster, Staal has almost single-handedly willed his team to the brink of their first championship in two decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

“Dallas is a good team. I think in the last four minutes they kind of willed it to happen for them, and we didn’t, and that’s unfortunate.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

I scrunched my toes into my black flip-flops, and I willed this day to serve me, to have a grand purpose—to bring my dog home.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

He’s always been willing to come back to the community and make contributions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

"Would Tesla be willing to provide him with an official car?" she posted on the Musk-owned platform X.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

You decide whom you want to lend money to and how much risk you’re willing to take.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

As Treasury yields climb, the pool of willing buyers gets larger.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

I stare and stare at the photograph, as if I’m willing it to talk to me, as if Hannie could climb out from the picture.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• attitude
• character
• decision
• desire
• determination
• discipline
• feeling
• inclination
• intention
• mind
• passion
• power
• resolution
• resolve
• wish