willfully
Americanadverb
-
deliberately or intentionally; on purpose.
Any seller who knowingly or willfully certifies false statements is subject to fine and imprisonment.
-
in an unreasonably stubborn or headstrong way.
The student disrupted school activities and willfully defied the authority of teachers, administrators, and other school employees.
Other Word Forms
- half-wilfully adverb
- half-willfully adverb
- unwilfully adverb
- unwillfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of willfully
First recorded before 1000; equivalent to willful ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
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.
In a song where vanity means being a “slave to makeup,” appearing willfully feminine might as well mean handing over your free will.
From Salon
But a source told the BBC: "To argue publicly that there was just one complaint is willfully misleading. They were presented to London in one dossier, but there were multiple complaints."
From BBC
“Any honest evaluation of that evidence would validate strongly keeping the endangerment finding in place, and the arguments for removing it are ideologically driven, willfully ignoring the evidence that’s out there,” Field said.
From Los Angeles Times
The government basically contends that willfully turning a blind eye to something you know is going on is tantamount to not knowing.
From Los Angeles Times
Aggregators willfully take advantage of news avoidance, narrow attention spans and short fuses.
From Salon
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.