willy-nilly
Americanadverb
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in a disorganized or unplanned manner; sloppily.
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whether one wishes to or not; willingly or unwillingly.
He'll have to do it willy-nilly.
adjective
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shilly-shallying; vacillating.
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disorganized, unplanned; sloppy.
willy-nilly work.
adverb
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whether desired or not
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haphazardly
adjective
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occurring or taking place whether desired or not
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occurring haphazardly
Etymology
Origin of willy-nilly
Explanation
Something that happens willy-nilly is random or haphazard. If you put your clothes away willy-nilly, it'll take forever to find two matching socks. This adverb is perfect for describing something done without any planning, like when the neighborhood kids grab instruments and parade willy-nilly up and down streets and through people's backyards. Willy-nilly comes from the obsolete phrase will I, nill I, or "I am willing, I am unwilling." The original definition, "whether one likes it or not," gradually evolved into today's meaning. Along the way, variations on willy-nilly included "nilly-willy," "willing, nilling," and "William nilliam."
Vocabulary lists containing willy-nilly
"To Build a Fire," Vocabulary from the short story
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Woodsong
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Byrd and Igloo: A Polar Adventure
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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.
The reasons for this jobs stagnation aren’t clear, though one culprit might be the uncertainty created by up-down, willy-nilly tariff policy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
People are no longer buying AI stocks willy-nilly.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
“But at the same time, they can’t just pass the costs on to consumers willy-nilly without thinking about the impact on competition.”
From MarketWatch • Nov. 12, 2025
My character is really out there, not out there willy-nilly, but she will yell at people if they are being rude, wasteful or if she feels it’s unjust.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2025
The generation after Galileo had to acknowledge its dependence on Evidence-Indices and so, willy-nilly, it had to adopt the virtues of the judiciary.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
