willfully

Or wil·ful·ly

[wil-fuh-lee]

adverb

1. deliberately or intentionally; on purpose.

   Any seller who knowingly or willfully certifies false statements is subject to fine and imprisonment.

2. 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-willfully adverb
• half-wilfully adverb
• unwillfully adverb
• unwilfully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of willfully¹

First recorded before 1000; equivalent to willful ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

From the journals Metcalfe has surmised that Vivien, herself a brilliant literary scholar and teacher, had willfully lived out her marriage under Blundy’s shadow, the dutiful handmaiden to a literary eminence.

From Los Angeles Times

All Californians need to stand up to people who not only want to remain willfully ignorant about the bad parts of our history but also want to stop others from learning about them.

From Los Angeles Times

“I killed Robert F. Kennedy willfully, premeditatedly, and with 20 years of malice aforethought,” he told the court, later explaining it was a reference to the 1948 birth of Israel.

From Los Angeles Times

Audiences are clamoring for great theatrical comedies, but laughter shouldn’t come at the cost of progressiveness, especially in a moment when so much of the media is willfully regressing toward conservatism.

From Salon

Apparently, millions would rather suffer mightily — or even die, as many willfully unvaccinated people did — than admit they were wrong.

From Salon

Related Words

• consciously 
• knowingly www.thesaurus.com
• pointedly 
• purposely 
• studiously www.thesaurus.com
• voluntarily