willingly
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of willingly
First recorded before 900; equivalent to willing ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
If you do something willingly, you're perfectly happy to do it. Invite your friends to join you for hot fudge sundaes, your treat, and they'll willingly come along. When a person acts willingly, they are doing something of their own free will — in other words, they're glad to do it. Sometimes it's a no-brainer: you'll willingly jump in your aunt's waiting car when she offers to drive you home from school on a rainy day. At other times, doing something willingly is a marker of your good nature, like when you willingly step in to help your friend move.
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.
I assume he will not go willingly, given that he feels like he has a right to live there and has nowhere else to go.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
But if past is prologue, the courts won’t willingly implement reform.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026
"We wouldn't encourage willingly driving your vehicle into the water," said Katharina Gamboa of the Grapevine Police Department, in comments reported by the BBC's US news partner CBS News.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
“He knows how to make a decision, he’s a very good listener, he willingly accepts different points of view,” diGenova added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
They took him aboard willingly, and within that hour the ship set forth.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
