where there is a will there is a way
/ʍɛɚ ˌðɛɚ ɪz ə ˈwɪl ðɛɚ ɪz ə ˈweɪ/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.45 in modern English
49
Scrabble Score
28
Letters
1
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[I]f he leaves the School poſſeſs'd of a ſluggiſh indolent Diſpoſition, and of Learning rather forc'd upon him than choſen, it is probable he will forget what he brought thence; but if he be active, emulous and aſpiring, he will certainly find Time for Reading and Thinking; for tho' it be a homely, it is a true Saying, that where there is a Will, there is a Way."
- "[H]ow far the particular practices in regard to Works of Industry may be usefully adopted, it is difficult to determine; but "where there is a will, there is a way:" local habits and circumstances must be the guides."
- "Unmindful of her former poverty, she was perpetually teasing Riboulard to take a lodging in Rue St. Honoré, and to allow her to dress in a style more suitable to her station. [...] It is an old saying, that where there is a will, there is always a way. At the end of a few months, Rosalia began to trick out her person, without the corporal's knowledge; [...]"
- "The powerful and the fortunate are very fond of the maxim, "where there's a will there's a way;" and they rarely use it without expressing in very clear terms a cold, insolent, and uncharitable judgment upon exertions they are themselves not called upon to make, while they modestly declare that such exertions, if by them made, would be triumphant. They say, in sort, to the weak and unprosperous—You might succeed if you would, for effort is success, and we should find a certain and easy conquest where you have met but baffled hopes and continual defeat!"
- "Where there is a will there is a way; but where there is no will there is no way, and that is the case with my honorable friend opposite."
- "Rolliver's inn, the single alehouse at this end of the long and broken village, could only boast of an off-license; [...] [T]hirsty strangers [...] wished they could have a restful seat inside. Thus the strangers. But there were also local customers who felt the same wish; and where there's a will there's a way. In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; [...]"
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʍɛɚ ˌðɛɚ ɪz ə ˈwɪl ðɛɚ ɪz ə ˈweɪ/
- British English: /ʍɛə ˌðɛəɹ ɪz ə ˈwɪl ðɛəɹ ɪz ə ˈweɪ/