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.

---

Other Word Forms

• overwillingly adverb
• prewillingly adverb
• quasi-willingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of willingly

First recorded before 900; equivalent to willing ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

The challenge, as you point out, is that your relative willingly gave this person power of attorney, and given their deterioration, it will be difficult for them to rescind it.

From MarketWatch

After precious few nights out without our kids, we had willingly suspended our better judgment—only to be reminded, expensively, that there are better ways to signal how you feel.

From The Wall Street Journal

I should have known Mom wouldn’t willingly swim in salt water.

From Literature

Never in his whole life had an adult believed him so willingly, so quickly.

From Literature

He’d follow me only too willingly, but I’d be taking him to his death; he was too little for this crazy plan, and for that same reason I couldn’t risk saying goodbye, either.

From Literature

Related Words

• cheerfully
• freely
• readily
• voluntarily