will
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will¹
- /wɪl/
- [wɪɫ] UK, US
- [wɪo̯]
- [wɪʊ̯]
Rhymes with -ɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan (“to want”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjan, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola ill, weel, well, will, woul, wull (“will”), North Frisian wale, wel (“to want”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian wolle (“to want”), Alemannic German and Central Franconian welle (“to want”), Cimbrian béllan, bölln (“to want”), Dutch willen (“to want”), German wollen (“to want”), Low German wüllen (“to want; will”), Luxembourgish wëllen (“to want”), Yiddish וועלן (veln, “to want”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ville (“to want”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish vilja (“to want”), Jamtish vili (“to want; wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, vilje (“want; will”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wiljan, “to want”); also Latin velle (“wish”, verb), voleō, volo (“to please, to wish; to want”), French vouloir (“to want”), Italian volere (“to want”), Irish fleá, fleadh (“feast”), Scottish Gaelic fleadh (“feast”), Welsh gwledd (“banquet, feast”), Lithuanian viltis (“to hope; to rely; to expect”), Czech velet (“to command”), volit (“to choose; to elect”), Polish woleć (“to prefer”), Russian во́ля (vólja, “freedom”), во́льный (vólʹnyj, “free”), веле́ть (velétʹ, “to command, to enjoin, to order”), Ukrainian воля (volja, “freedom, liberty, will”), вільний (vilʹnyj, “free”), веліти (velity, “to will, to order, to command”), воліти (volity, “to will, to prefer”), Old Armenian գեղձ (gełj, “desire, wish”), Sanskrit वृणीते (vṛṇīte), वृणोति (vṛṇoti, “to choose”). The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 3, below.
(indicating future action): Compare typologically Bulgarian ще (šte), Macedonian ќе (ḱe), Serbo-Croatian хтети (< Proto-Slavic *xotěti).
verb will · willing · would
- Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall. Do not forget, will you?
- To be able to, to have the capacity to. Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
- Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference". He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.
- To habitually do (a given action). Boys will be boys.
- To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation. Will you marry me?
- To wish, desire (something). Do what you will.
- To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally.
- Implying will go. I’ll to England.
will²
- /wɪl/
- [wɪɫ] UK, US
- [wɪo̯]
- [wɪʊ̯]
Rhymes with -ɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English wille, from Old English willa (compare verb willian), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja, Norwegian vilje.
noun wills · wille
- One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention. Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
- The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition. Most creatures have a will to live.
- One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands. Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
-
Firmness of purpose, fixity of intent
Thus Mill’s case for the claim that happiness is the sole human end, put more carefully, is this: ‘Whatever is desired otherwise than as a means to some end beyond itself, and ultimately to happiness, is desired as itself a part of happiness, and is not desired for itself until has become so’ (1861a
Similar: determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve
-
A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.
“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”
Similar: testament, last will, last will and testament
- That which is desired; one's wish. I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].
- Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
will³
- /wɪl/
- [wɪɫ] UK, US
- [wɪo̯]
- [wɪʊ̯]
Rhymes with -ɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English willen, from Old English willian (“to will”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjōn (“to will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with German Low German willen, German willen. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.
verb wills · willing · willed · would
- To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.
- To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document). He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
- To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something. All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
Will⁴
- /wɪl/
Sounds like will · Rhymes with -ɪl
Where it comes from
Clipping of William or Willow, less often, other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.
proper noun
- A diminutive of the male given name William or, less often, other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard, from the Germanic languages; also used as a formal given name. Make but my name thy loue, and loue that ſtill, / And then thou loueſt me for my name is Will.
- A diminutive of the female given name Willow.
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
noun Wills
- A weak-side linebacker. Will linebacker drops to turn-in, QB dropping dumps the ball off to HB.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: volition, shall, wish, bequeath, testament, leave, ought, intent, needs, sake, faith, sincerity, intention, decision, determination, expected
Translations
Every language
verb to wish or desire
| Español | desear, anhelar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 望む nozomu, 希望する kibō suru, 願う negau |
| हिन्दी | आशा āśā, इच्छा icchā, कामना kāmnā, चाह cāh |
| Português | desejar |
| Français | vouloir |
| Deutsch | wollen |
| Italiano | volere |
| Русский | жела́ть želátʹ, пожела́ть poželátʹ |
verb indicating future action
| Español | future tense, ir a |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | -을 것이다 -eul geosida, -ㄹ 것이다 -l geosida, -을게 -eulge, -ㄹ게 -lge, -겠- -get- |
| 中文 | 將 /将 jiāng, 要 yào, 將要 /将要 jiāngyào, 會 /会 huì |
| हिन्दी | होंगे hoṅge |
| Kiswahili | -ta- |
| Français | -ras, -ra, -rons, -rez, -ront, aller |
| Deutsch | werden, present tense form is often used |
| Italiano | -rai, -rà, -remo, -rete, -ranno |
| Tiếng Việt | sẽ |
| עברית | עָתִיד 'atíd |
noun one's independent faculty of choice
| हिन्दी | इच्छा icchā |
|---|---|
| Português | arbítrio |
| Deutsch | Wille |
| Русский | во́ля vólja |
| العربية | إرَادَة ʔirāda |
noun act of choosing to do something; conscious intent or volition
| Español | voluntad, albedrío |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 의지 uiji |
| 日本語 | 意志 ishi |
| 中文 | 意志 yìzhì |
| हिन्दी | इच्छा icchā |
| Português | vontade |
| Français | volonté |
| Deutsch | Wille |
| Italiano | volontà |
| Ελληνικά | βούληση voúlisi, θέληση thélisi |
| Română | voință |
| Русский | во́ля vólja |
| العربية | رَغْبَة raḡba, إرَادَة ʔirāda |
| עברית | רָצוֹן ratsón, אָבָה ava |
noun intention or decision
| हिन्दी | इच्छा icchā, संकल्प saṅkalp |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Wille |
| Русский | во́ля vólja, наме́рение namérenije |
| العربية | إرَادَة ʔirāda |
verb to bequeath
| Español | legar |
|---|---|
| Português | legar |
| Français | léguer |
| Deutsch | vermachen |
| Italiano | legare, lasciare in eredità |
| Русский | завеща́ть zaveščátʹ |
verb to exert one's force of will
| Español | ejercer la fuerza de la voluntad |
|---|
Talk about this word "will." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/will. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. will. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/will "will." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/will.Cite this
@misc{will_2026,
title = {will},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/will},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
