What does "will" mean?
One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
Will
/wɪl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
- Grammar: will is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: testament, volition, add a codicil, aim.
- Useful contrasts: apathy, decline, disinterest.
- Usage evidence: Maybe it will be exactly the same for him.
How to use "will"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "will" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "will" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "will" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "will" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "testament" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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."
- 2 A weak-side linebacker.
"Will linebacker drops to turn-in, QB dropping dumps the ball off to HB."
- 3 the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention wordnet
- 4 The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
"Most creatures have a will to live."
- 5 a fixed and persistent intent or purpose wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
"Eventually I submitted to my parents' will."
- 7 a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die wordnet
- 8 Firmity 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: 237). Nothing here assumed Hume’s view that every action must ultimately flow from an underived desire. That is a quite separate issue, and Mill’s view of it is closer to that of Kant or Reid than to that of Hume. He insists ‘positively and emphatically’ that the will is a different thing from desire; that a person of confirmed virtue, or any other person whose purposes are fixed, carries out his purposes without any thought of the pleasure he has in contemplating them, or expects to derive from their fulfilment. (1861a: 238) This distinction between purpose and desire is central to Mill’s conception of the will. When we develop purposes we can will against mere likings or aversions: ‘In the case of an habitual purpose, instead of willing the thing because we desire it, we often desire it only because we will it’ (1861a: 238). Every action is caused by a motive, but not every motive is a liking or aversion: When the will is said to be determined by motives, a motive does not mean always, or solely, the anticipation of a pleasure or of a pain…. A habit of willing is commonly called a purpose; and among the causes of our volitions, and of the actions which flow from them, must be reckoned not only likings and aversions, but also purposes. (1843: 842) The formation of purposes from desires is the evolution of will; it is also the development of character. Mill quotes Novalis: ‘a character is a completely fashioned will’ (1843: 843)."
- 9 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?”"
- 10 That which is desired; one's wish. archaic
"I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...]."
- 11 Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) archaic
"He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land."
Verb
- 1 Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall. auxiliary, no-past-participle
"Do not forget, will you?"
- 2 To instruct (that something be done) in one's will. intransitive, transitive
- 3 determine by choice wordnet
- 4 To be able to, to have the capacity to. auxiliary, no-past-participle
"Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand."
- 5 To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document). transitive
"He willed his stamp collection to the local museum."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 decree or ordain wordnet
- 7 Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference". auxiliary, no-past-participle
"He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock."
- 8 To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something. transitive
"All the fans were willing their team to win the game."
- 9 leave or give by will after one's death wordnet
- 10 To habitually do (a given action). auxiliary, no-past-participle
"Boys will be boys."
- 11 To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation. auxiliary, no-past-participle
"Will you marry me?"
- 12 To wish, desire (something). literary, no-past-participle, transitive, uncommon
"Do what you will."
- 13 To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). archaic, intransitive, no-past-participle
"Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally."
- 14 Implying will go. archaic, no-past-participle
"I’ll to England."
Proper Noun
- 1 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."
- 2 A surname originating as a patronymic.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Maybe it will be exactly the same for him."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "will"?
Common synonyms include: testament, volition, add a codicil, aim, alternativity, ambition.
How do you use "will" in a sentence?
Maybe it will be exactly the same for him.
How do you pronounce "will"?
Pronounced /wɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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).
Etymology 2
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.
Etymology 3
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.
Etymology 4
Clipping of William or, less often, other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.