Willingly

How to spell willingly

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce willingly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does willingly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that shows readiness or eagerness; of one's own free choice and without being forced.

Willingly in a sentence

• She willingly stayed late to finish the report.

• He willingly paid the extra fee to avoid the queue.

Where does willingly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the Old English verb willan, meaning 'to wish, to want, or to intend', the same ancient root that gives us the modern word 'will'. The adjective 'willing' developed as a participle describing someone who is ready and eager to do something, and the adverb 'willingly' simply adds the common -ly ending that turns a quality into a manner of acting. The Germanic family behind willan is wide: Dutch willen and German wollen are close cousins, all carrying the sense of wanting or being inclined. Because the base 'will' already ends in a double L, that doubling carries straight through into 'willingly', which is the spelling point worth fixing in memory. The word has been in continuous English use for well over a thousand years, shifting little in sense from 'gladly and of one's own choice'.

How the word is built

• will (to want, from Old English willan)
• -ing (present participle/adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)