willingly

will·ing·ly
W4I1L1L1I1N1G2L1Y4
/ˈwɪlɪŋli/

adverb

Of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 16

Meanings

adverbwillingly (comparative more willingly, superlative most willingly)

comparative more willingly · superlative most willingly

  1. Of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.

    Now this is a process of the mind or thought, of which I would willingly know the foundation.

    1748, [David Hume], chapter 29, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    In the first place, although many people wanted nationalisation and it became the will of Parliament, there were many other people who did not want it, have never willingly accepted it, and never will.

    1958 January 28, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 12

    Synonyms: gladly, happily

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbOf one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adverbin a willing manner

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishwillendlīċe“diligently”
  2. Middle Englishwillyngly
  3. Englishwillingly

From Middle English willyngly, wyllyngly (“intentionally, deliverately; freely, gladly”), from Old English willendlīċe (“diligently”), equivalent to willing + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic طَوْعًا, طَوَاعِيَةً
  • طَوْعًا (ṭawʕan)of one’s own free will
  • طَوَاعِيَةً (ṭawāʕiyatan)of one’s own free will
Bulgarian охо́тно
  • охо́тно (ohótno)of one’s own free will
Catalan gustosament
  • gustosamentof one’s own free will
Chinese Mandarin 樂意 /乐意
  • 樂意 /乐意 (lèyì)of one’s own free will
Dutch graag, willens
  • graagof one’s own free will
  • willensof one’s own free will
Esperanto volonte
  • volonteof one’s own free will
Finnish vapaaehtoisesti
  • vapaaehtoisestiof one’s own free will
French volontiers
  • volontiersof one’s own free will
German gern, gerne
  • gernof one’s own free will
  • gerneof one’s own free will
Greek πρόθυμα
  • πρόθυμα (próthyma)of one’s own free will
Hungarian szívesen
  • szívesenof one’s own free will
Icelandic fúslega
  • fúslegaof one’s own free will
Italian volentieri, con piacere
  • volentieriof one’s own free will
  • con piacereof one’s own free will
  • di buongradoof one’s own free will
  • di buon gradoof one’s own free will
Japanese 進んで
  • 進んで (susunde)of one’s own free will
Korean 기꺼이
  • 기꺼이 (gikkeoi)of one’s own free will
Latin libenter
  • libenterof one’s own free will
Portuguese de boa vontade
  • de boa vontadeof one’s own free will
Romanian de bunăvoie
  • de bunăvoieof one’s own free will
Russian охо́тно
  • охо́тно (oxótno)of one’s own free will
Spanish de buena gana, gustosamente
  • de buena ganaof one’s own free will
  • gustosamenteof one’s own free will
  • a solazof one’s own free will
  • de ganaof one’s own free will
  • buenamenteof one’s own free will
  • de buena voluntadof one’s own free will
  • de voluntadof one’s own free will
  • queriendoof one’s own free will
Swedish gärna, frivilligt
  • gärnaof one’s own free will
  • frivilligtof one’s own free will
Turkish can atarak, isteyerek
  • can atarakof one’s own free will
  • isteyerekof one’s own free will
Ukrainian охо́че
  • охо́че (oxóče)of one’s own free will
Vietnamese sẵn lòng
  • sẵn lòngof one’s own free will
Cite this entry
APA

willingly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willingly

MLA

“willingly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willingly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “willingly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willingly.

Source: willingly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.