Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

will

[wɪɫ]

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.45 in modern English

Syllables
will
IPA
[wɪɫ]
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be able to, to have the capacity to.

verb

To habitually do (a given action).

verb

To wish, desire (something).

Literary; Transitive verb

verb

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

Archaic; Intransitive verb

verb

Implying will go.

Archaic

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan (“to want”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjan, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognates Cognate with Yola ill, weel, well, will, woul, wull (“will”), North Frisian wale, wel (“to want”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian wolle (“to want”), Alemannic German and Central Franconian welle (“to want”), Cimbrian béllan, bölln (“to want”), Dutch willen (“to want”), German wollen (“to want”), Low German wüllen (“to want; will”), Luxembourgish wëllen (“to want”), Yiddish וועלן (veln, “to want”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ville (“to want”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish vilja (“to want”), Jamtish vili (“to want; wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, vilje (“want; will”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wiljan, “to want”); also Latin velle (“wish”, verb), voleō, volo (“to please, to wish; to want”), French vouloir (“to want”), Italian volere (“to want”), Irish fleá, fleadh (“feast”), Scottish Gaelic fleadh (“feast”), Welsh gwledd (“banquet, feast”), Lithuanian viltis (“to hope; to rely; to expect”), Czech velet (“to command”), volit (“to choose; to elect”), Polish woleć (“to prefer”), Russian во́ля (vólja, “freedom”), во́льный (vólʹnyj, “free”), веле́ть (velétʹ, “to command, to enjoin, to order”), Ukrainian воля (volja, “freedom, liberty, will”), вільний (vilʹnyj, “free”), веліти (velity, “to will, to order, to command”), воліти (volity, “to will, to prefer”), Old Armenian գեղձ (gełj, “desire, wish”), Sanskrit वृणीते (vṛṇīte), वृणोति (vṛṇoti, “to choose”). The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 3, below. (indicating future action): Compare typologically Bulgarian ще (šte), Macedonian ќе (ḱe), Serbo-Croatian хтети (< Proto-Slavic *xotěti).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: [wɪɫ]
  • British English: [wɪɫ]

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce will?
The recorded pronunciation is [wɪɫ].
What does will mean?
Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall.
Where does will come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce will

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “will”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([wɪɫ]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “will”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “will” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.