willingly

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

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

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.

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

• gladly, happily

• unwillingly