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with a will

Idioms  
  1. Vigorously, energetically, as in He started pruning with a will. This term, first recorded in 1848, uses will in the sense of “determination.”


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.

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The share of people with a will went up with age, hitting 37% among baby boomers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

Frank McGuire, a Buffalo, N.Y., businessman died with a will in 2020, leaving behind a multimillion-dollar estate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

One of the most concerning findings in the National Wills Report is that up to 29% of people with a will have not told anyone where they store it.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025

He left the war with lasting physical and emotional scars and, like such fellow veterans as Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut, with a will to find words for what had happened.

From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024

There was no mysticism, no invoking of God, merely a passionate identification of all present with a will to right wrongs.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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