willing
Americanadjective
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disposed or consenting; inclined.
willing to go along.
- Synonyms:
- minded
-
cheerfully consenting or ready.
a willing worker.
-
done, given, borne, used, etc., with cheerful readiness.
adjective
-
favourably disposed or inclined; ready
-
cheerfully or eagerly compliant
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done, given, accepted, etc, freely or voluntarily
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of willing
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; see will 2, -ing 2
Explanation
If you're willing to do something, you're agreeable or ready. A willing participant in your play is someone who won't have to be coerced into taking part, but is happy to join you on stage. Imagine that your neighbor asks whether you're willing to feed her cat while she's out of town. If you're open to helping her, perhaps even enthusiastic about spending time with a friendly cat, you're willing. Someone who's not willing would have to be persuaded or forced to do it. You can also use this adjective to mean "readily or enthusiastically done," as in the willing support you offer your best friend when she runs for class president.
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.
Slower breathing and a calmer cardiovascular state, by contrast, may encourage a more positive assessment of potential outcomes and make people more willing to take risks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
The Clippers would never be the fancy Lakers, but if you were willing to believe, they could be the cool cousin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Flesh adds: "If the public aren't willing to support drag outside of the Drag Race vehicle" then "we won't be able to sustain Drag Race".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“That’s a squeeze on housing from both sides: what people can afford, and what they’re willing to buy into,” she added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
I hate that Mom was willing to laugh along with us.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
