Definitions for will
wɪlwill

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.3 / 6 votes

1. volition, willnoun

   the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention

   "the exercise of their volition we construe as revolt"- George Meredith

2. willnoun

   a fixed and persistent intent or purpose

   "where there's a will there's a way"

3. will, testamentverb

   a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

4. willverb

   decree or ordain

   "God wills our existence"

5. willverb

   determine by choice

   "This action was willed and intended"

6. bequeath, will, leaveverb

   leave or give by will after one's death

   "My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry"; "My grandfather left me his entire estate"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.3 / 3 votes

1. Willnoun

   A weak-side linebacker.

2. Willnoun

   . Also used as a formal given name.

3. Etymology: Shortened from William or, less often, from other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WILLnoun

   Etymology: willa , Saxon; wille, Dutch.

   1. Choice; arbitrary determination.

   Will is the power, which the mind has to order the consideration of any idea, or the forbearing to consider it, or to prefer the motion of any part of the body to its rest, and vice versa. John Locke, Works.

   Two principal fountains there are of human actions, knowledge and will; which will, in things tending towards any end, is termed choice. Richard Hooker, b. i.

   Is it her nature, or is it her will,
   To be so cruel to an humble foe?
   If nature, then she may it mend with skill;
   If will, then she at will may will forego. Edmund Spenser.

   These things have a shew of wisdom in will worship and humility. Col. ii. 23.

   Will holds the sceptre in the soul,
   And on the passions of the heart doth reign. John Davies.

   The truth is, such a man understands by his will, and believes a thing true or false, merely as it agrees or disagrees with a violent inclination; and therefore, whilst that inclination lasts in its strength, he discovers nothing of the different degrees of evidence. Francis Atterbury.

   2. Discretion; choice.

   Go then the guilty at thy will chastize. Alexander Pope.

   3. Command; direction.

   At his first sight the mountains are shaken, and at his will the south wind bloweth. Eccles. xliii. 16.

   4. Disposition; inclination; desire.

   I make bold to press upon you with so little preparation.
   Your welcome; what’s your will? William Shakespeare.

   He hath a will, he hath a power to perform. William Drummond.

   He said, and with so good a will to die,
   Did to his breast the fatal point apply,
   It found his heart. Dryden.

   5. Power; government.

   Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies. Psal.

   He had the will of his maid before he could go; he had the mastery of his parents ever since he could prattle; and why, now he is grown up, must he be restrained? John Locke.

   6. Divine determination.

   I would give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground. The wills above be done; but I would fain die a dry death. William Shakespeare.

   7. Testament; disposition of a dying man’s effects.

   Another branch of their revenue still
   Remains, beyond their boundless right to kill,
   Their father yet alive, impower’d to make a will. Dryd.

   Do men make their last wills by word of mouth only? , Sermons.

   8. Good- will. Favour; kindness.

   I’ll to the doctor, he hath my good-will,
   And none but he to marry with Nan Page. William Shakespeare.

   9. Good- will. Right intention.

   Some preach Christ of envy, and some of good will. Phil. i. 15.

   10. Ill- will. Malice; malignity.11. [Contracted from William.] Will with a wisp,Will with the wisp is of a round figure, in bigness like the flame of a candle; but sometimes broader, and like a bundle of twigs set on fire. It sometimes gives a brighter light than that of a wax-candle; at other times more obscure, and of a purple colour. When viewed near at hand, it shines less than at a distance. They wander about in the air, not far from the surface of the earth; and are more frequent in places that are unctuous, mouldy, marshy, and abounding with reeds. They haunt burying places, places of execution, dunghills. They commonly appear in summer, and at the beginning of autumn, and are generally at the height of about six feet from the ground. Now they dilate themselves, and now contract. Now they go on like waves, and rain as it were sparks of fire; but they burn nothing. They follow those that run away, and fly from those that follow them. Some that have been catched were observed to consist of a shining, viscous, and gelatinous matter, like the spawn of frogs, not hot or burning, but only shining; so that the matter seems to be phosphorus, prepared and raised from putrified plants or carcasses by the heat of the sun; which is condensed by the cold of the evening, and then shines. Peter van Musschenbroek

   Will a wisp misleads night-faring clowns,
   O’er hills and sinking bogs. John Gay.

2. To Willverb

   Etymology: wilgan, Gothick; willan , Saxon; willen, Dutch.

   1. To desire that any thing should be, or be done.

   To will, is to bend our souls to the having or doing of that which they see to be good. Richard Hooker.

   Let Richard be restored to his blood,
   As will the rest; so willeth Winchester. William Shakespeare.

   I speak not of God’s determining his own will, but his predetermining the acts of our will. There is as great difference betwixt these two, as betwixt my willing a lawful thing myself, and my inducing another man to do that which is unlawful. Henry Hammond, on Fundamentals.

   Whosoever wills the doing of a thing, if the doing of it be in his power, he will certainly do it; and whosoever does not do that thing, which he has in his power to do, does not properly will it. South.

   A man that sits still, is said to be at liberty, because he can walk if he wills it. John Locke.

   2. To be inclined or resolved to have.

   She’s too rough for me;
   There, there, Hortensio, will you any wife? William Shakespeare.

   3. To command; to direct.

   St. Paul did will them of Corinth, every man to lay up somewhat on the Sunday, and to reserve it in store for the church of Jerusalem, for the relief of the poor there. Richard Hooker.

   How rarely does it meet with this time’s guise,
   When man was willed to love his enemies. William Shakespeare.

   Our battle is more full of names than yours,
   Our men more perfect in the use of arms,
   Our armours all as strong, our cause the best;
   Then reason wills our hearts should be as good. William Shakespeare.

   He willed him to be of good comfort, promising to bestow upon him whatsoever he should win. Richard Knolles.

   If they had any business, his Majesty willed that they should attend. Edward Hyde.

   ’Tis your’s, O queen! to will
   The work, which duty binds me to fulfil. Dryden.

   4. It has a loose and slight signification.

   Let the circumstances of life be what, or where they will, a man should never neglect improvement. Isaac Watts.

   5. It is one of the signs of the future tense; of which it is difficult to show or limit the signification. I will come. I am determined to come; importing choice. Thou wilt come. It must be so that thou must come; importing necessity. Wilt thou come? Hast thou determined to come? importing choice. He will come. He is resolved to come; or it must be that he must come, importing either choice or necessity. It will come. It must so be that it must come; importing necessity. The plural follows the analogy of the singular.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. will

   Will refers to the mental faculty or ability of a person to make conscious decisions and choices. It refers to the power of making deliberate decisions and taking actions based on personal desire, motivation, or intention. Will involves the ability to control and direct one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, as well as the determination to persist with a chosen course of action despite obstacles or challenges. It encompasses the capacity to exercise self-control, make decisions independent of external factors, and act in accordance with one's values, beliefs, or goals.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.9 / 7 votes

1. Will

   the power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects

2. Will

   the choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition

3. Will

   the choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure

4. Will

   strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose

5. Will

   that which is strongly wished or desired

6. Will

   arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine

7. Will

   the legal declaration of a person's mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise. See the Note under Testament, 1

8. Willadverb

   to wish; to desire; to incline to have

9. Willadverb

   as an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination

10. Willverb

    to be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire

11. Willnoun

    to form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree

12. Willnoun

    to enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order

13. Willnoun

    to give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch

14. Willverb

    to exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree

15. Etymology: [OE. willen, imp. wolde; akin to OS. willan, OFries. willa, D. willen, G. wollen, OHG. wollan, wellan, Icel. & Sw. vilja, Dan. ville, Goth. wiljan, OSlav. voliti, L. velle to wish, volo I wish; cf. Skr. v to choose, to prefer. Cf. Voluntary, Welcome, Well, adv.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WILL

   WILL is the callsign of the three public broadcasting stations owned by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and directly operated by its Division of Broadcasting. It consists of PBS member station WILL-TV and National Public Radio member stations WILL and WILL-FM. The three stations are known collectively as Illinois Public Media, and are operated out of Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunication on the U of I campus. WILL-TV received its largest bequest, $1 million, from Lois Dickson, who had been a contributor to the station for the thirty years before her death at the age of 95 in 2004. In April 2011, WILL eliminated its weather department due to budget cuts.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Will

   wil, n. power of choosing or determining: volition: choice or determination: pleasure: command: arbitrary disposal: feeling towards, as in good or ill will: disposition of one's effects at death, the written document containing such.—v.i. to have a wish, desire: to resolve, be resolved: to be accustomed, certain, ready, or sure (to do, &c.)—used as an auxiliary, esp. in future constructions: to exercise the will: to decree: (B.) to be willing.—v.t. to wish, desire: to determine: to be resolved to do: to command: to dispose of by will: to subject to another's will, as in hypnotism:—pa.t. would.—adj. Wil′ful, governed only by one's will: done or suffered by design: obstinate: (Shak.) willing.—adv. Wil′fully.—n. Wil′fulness.—adj. Willed, having a will: brought under another's will.—n. Will′er, one who wishes, one who wills.—adjs. Will′ing, having the will inclined to a thing: desirous: disposed: chosen; Will′ing-heart′ed, heartily consenting.—adv. Will′ingly.—n. Will′ingness.—adj. Will′yard (Scot.), wilful: shy.—ns. Good′-will (see Good); Ill′-will (see Ill).—At will, at pleasure; Conjoint, Joint, will, a testamentary act by two persons jointly in the same instrument; Have one's will, to obtain what one desires; Tenant at will, one who holds lands at the will of the owner; With a will, with all one's heart; Work one's will, to do exactly what one wants. [A.S. willa, will—willan, wyllan, to wish; Goth. wiljan, Ger. wollen, L. velle.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. will

   A term on our northern shores for a sea-gull.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. will

   Song lyrics by will -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by will on the Lyrics.com website.

2. WILL

   What does WILL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WILL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WILL

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Will is ranked #2869 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Will surname appeared 12,575 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 would have the surname Will.
   
   91.1% or 11,463 total occurrences were White.
   4.3% or 547 total occurrences were Black.
   2% or 255 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.4% or 182 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.7% or 96 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.2% or 33 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Determine
   • Faculty
   • Ordain
   • Purpose

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'will' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #42

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'will' in Written Corpus Frequency: #89

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'will' in Nouns Frequency: #762

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'will' in Verbs Frequency: #4

How to pronounce will?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say will in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of will in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of will in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=will
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Will
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=will
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/will
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=will
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=will
8. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=will
9. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html