Meaning & use
willingly
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a way that shows you are ready and happy to do something, without having to be persuaded.
Grammar: Goes before the verb or after it: she willingly agreed, she agreed willingly.
Patterns
- willingly agree
- willingly help
- do something willingly
She willingly gave up her seat for the elderly man.
The volunteers willingly stayed late to finish the work.
He answered every question willingly.
adverbnot comparable
By free choice and without being forced.
Grammar: Often used in negative sentences to show force or pressure: nobody would willingly choose that.
Patterns
- not willingly
- willingly choose to do something
No one would willingly live next to a noisy factory.
The witness insisted that he had signed the paper willingly.
They did not give up the land willingly.
Common combinations
- willingly agree
- The neighbors willingly agreed to share the cost.
- help willingly
- The students help willingly at the school fair.
- willingly give
- Many people willingly give their time to charity.
- willingly accept
- He willingly accepted responsibility.
- not willingly
- She would not willingly lie to a friend.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gladly
- Gladly stresses pleasure in doing something, whereas willingly stresses only that you were not forced.
- readily
- Readily suggests speed and ease, with no hesitation, and is slightly more neutral in tone.
- voluntarily
- Voluntarily focuses on the choice being free of obligation and is used more formally, often in legal or official contexts.
- eagerly
- Eagerly is stronger than willingly and suggests enthusiasm or impatience.
Opposites
Word family
- willing adjective
- ready to do something if asked
- willingness noun
- the quality of being ready to do something
- unwilling adjective
- not ready to do something
- unwillingly adverb
- in a reluctant way
Commonly confused: willingly or voluntarily?
willingly vs voluntarily
Voluntarily means by one's own choice and without being obliged, while willingly adds the idea of being ready or glad to do it.
Practice
He ___ offered to drive everyone home, though nobody had asked him.
Choose one answer.
Willingly fits an offer made freely and readily. Unwillingly and grudgingly suggest reluctance, which does not match an unasked offer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “willingly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.