Meanings
plural willpowers · alternative will power · alternative will-power
- countableuncountableThe unwavering strength of will to carry out one's wishes.
"A remarkable woman, gentlemen," said he, "a very noteworthy woman. I had prided myself that my willpower was the most powerful in the country--I had never met any to match it--but I do not mind admitting that, for firmness and tenacity, this lady is my equal. ...
1900, Grant Allen, Arthur Conan Doyle, Hilda Wade
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishwilla
- Middle Englishwille
- Englishwill
- Proto-Indo-European*pótis
- Proto-Italic*potis
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésti
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰúHt
- Proto-Italic*som
- Proto-Italic*possom
- Latinposse
- Vulgar Latinpotēre
- Old Frenchpooir
- Anglo-Normanpoer
- Middle Englishpower
- Englishpower
- Englishwillpower
Translations
Bulgarian си́ла на во́ля
- си́ла на во́ля (síla na vólja)strength of will
Catalan força de voluntat
- força de voluntatstrength of will
Chinese Mandarin 意志力, 意志
- 意志力 (yìzhìlì)strength of will
- 意志 (yìzhì)strength of will
- 精神力 (jīngshénlì)strength of will
Czech síla vůle
- síla vůlestrength of will
Danish viljekraft, viljestyrke
- viljekraftstrength of will
- viljestyrkestrength of will
Dutch wilskracht
- wilskrachtstrength of will
Esperanto volpovo, volforto
- volpovostrength of will
- volfortostrength of will
Estonian tahtejõud
- tahtejõudstrength of will
Finnish tahdonvoima, sisu
- tahdonvoimastrength of will
- sisustrength of will
French volonté
- volontéstrength of will
German Willensstärke, Willenskraft
- Willensstärkestrength of will
- Willenskraftstrength of will
Greek θεληματικότητα, δύναμη θέλησης
- θεληματικότητα (thelimatikótita)strength of will
- δύναμη θέλησης (dýnami thélisis)strength of will
Hindi आत्मबल, इच्छाशक्ति
- आत्मबल (ātmabal)strength of will
- इच्छाशक्ति (icchāśakti)strength of will
Hungarian akaraterő
- akaraterőstrength of will
Italian forza d'animo, forza di volontà
- forza d'animostrength of will
- forza di volontàstrength of will
Japanese 意志力, 気力
- 意志力 (ishiryoku)strength of will
- 気力 (kiryoku)strength of will
- 意力 (iryoku)strength of will
- 精神力 (seishinryoku)strength of will
Korean 의지력, 정신력
- 의지력 (uijiryeok)strength of will
- 정신력 (jeongsillyeok)strength of will
Latin voluntas
- voluntasstrength of will
Norwegian Bokmål viljestyrke
- viljestyrkestrength of will
Persian عزم راسخ
- عزم راسخ ('azm-e râsex)strength of will
Polish siła woli
- siła wolistrength of will
Portuguese força de vontade, determinação
- força de vontadestrength of will
- determinaçãostrength of will
Romanian propria voință
- propria voințăstrength of will
Russian си́ла во́ли
- си́ла во́ли (síla vóli)strength of will
Slovak sila vôle
- sila vôlestrength of will
Spanish fuerza de voluntad, fuerza volitiva
- fuerza de voluntadstrength of will
- fuerza volitivastrength of will
Swedish viljestyrka
- viljestyrkastrength of will
Ukrainian си́ла во́лі
- си́ла во́лі (sýla vóli)strength of will
Cite this entry
willpower. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willpower
“willpower.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willpower. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “willpower,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/willpower.
Source: willpower on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.