willingly

American  

[wil-ing-lee] / ˈwɪl ɪŋ li /

adverb

1. in a consenting and often cheerful way.

   They volunteer for duty on faraway battlefields, willingly putting their lives on the line to fight and possibly die for their country.

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Other Word Forms

• overwillingly
  adverb
• prewillingly
  adverb
• quasi-willingly
  adverb

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

Two hypothetical examples might be if Taylor Swift placed a bet on when she might get married or if Trump's administration gave information away willingly to colleagues or friends about future policy.

From BBC • May 21, 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

“Plaintiff willingly, voluntarily, and knowingly assumed each, every, and all the risks and hazards involved in the activities referred to,” the filing said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

Bunting means willingly giving up one of your 27 outs, the most precious resource that exists in the game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

When they finished the fruit punch, they willingly accepted Aureliano’s decision.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• cheerfully
• freely
• readily
• voluntarily