willingly

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪlɪŋli/
• Hyphenation: will‧ing‧ly

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

willingly (comparative more willingly, superlative most willingly)

1. Of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.
   • 1748, [David Hume], chapter 29, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

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

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

     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.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:willingly.

Synonyms

• gladly, happily

Antonyms

• unwillingly

Translations

of one’s own free will — see also with pleasure,‎ volitionally,‎ volitively,‎ voluntarily,‎ motu proprio

• Arabic: طَوْعًا m (ṭawʕan), طَوَاعِيَةً f (ṭawāʕiyatan)
• Asturian: d'alcuerdu
• Bulgarian: охо́тно (bg) (ohótno)
• Catalan: gustosament (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樂意 / 乐意 (zh) (lèyì)

• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: ha hiari

• Dutch: graag (nl), willens (nl)
• Esperanto: volonte (eo)
• Finnish: vapaaehtoisesti (fi)
• French: volontiers (fr)
• Galician: boamente
• German: gern (de), gerne (de)
• Greek: πρόθυμα (el) (próthyma)
• Hungarian: szívesen (hu)
• Icelandic: fúslega
• Italian: volentieri (it), con piacere, di buongrado, di buon grado
• Japanese: 進んで (ja) (すすんで, susunde)
• Korean: 기꺼이 (ko) (gikkeoi)
• Latin: libenter
• Mansi:

  Northern Mansi: ка̄сасым (kāsasym), таӈхим (taňhim)

• Norman: dé bouôn tchoeu
• Plautdietsch: wellens
• Portuguese: de boa vontade
• Romanian: de bunăvoie
• Russian: охо́тно (ru) (oxótno)
• Serbo-Croatian: својевољно (svȍjevōljno)
• Spanish: de buena gana, gustosamente (es), a solaz, de gana, buenamente (es), de buena voluntad, de voluntad, queriendo (es)
• Swedish: gärna (sv), frivilligt (sv)
• Turkish: can atarak, isteyerek
• Ukrainian: охо́че (uk) (oxóče)
• Venetan: bolincera (vec)
• Vietnamese: sẵn lòng (vi)
• Volapük: vilöfo (vo)