Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Unwilling |
UnwillingAdjective1. Not disposed or inclined toward; "an unwilling assistant". 2. In spite of contrary volition. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "unwilling" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references) |
Synonym: UnwillingSynonym: reluctant. (additional references) |
| Antonym: willing (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Absence of Motive | Verb: have no motive; scruple; (be unwilling). |
Avoidance | Adjective: unsought, unattempted; avoiding; Verb: neutral, shy of; (unwilling); elusive, evasive; fugitive, runaway; shy, wild. |
Dissent | Discontented; unwilling; extorted. |
Dissuasion | Dissuaded; Verb: admonitory; uninduced; (induce; ); unpersuadable; (obstinate); averse; (unwilling); repugnant; (dislike). |
Necessity | Adverb: necessarily; adVerb: of necessity, of course; ex necessitate rei; needs must; perforce; nolens volens; will he nil he, willy nilly, bon gre mal gre, willing or unwilling, coute que coute. |
Unwillingness | Verb: be unwilling; Adjective: nill; dislike; grudge, begrudge; not be able to find it in one's heart to, not have the stomach to. |
Adjective: unwilling; not in the vein, loth, loath, shy of, disinclined, indisposed, averse, reluctant, not content; adverse; (opposed); laggard, backward, remiss, slack, slow to; indifferent; scrupulous; squeamish; (fastidious); repugnant; (dislike); restiff, restive; demurring; Verb: unconsenting; (refusing); involuntary. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | They are unwilling to adopt the spirit of the Revolution, and we do not want them (Scarface; writing credit: Oliver Stone) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Unwilling Doctor (1957) An Unwilling Hero (1921) The Unwilling Bride (1912) An Unwilling Cowboy (1911) Unwilling Lovers (1977) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
 |
| "Peacock feathers" by Velda Christensen Commentary: "The peacock was unwilling to display his feathers as he should, and even when he did I had a hard time catching a good angle. But the feathers themselves are quite interesting, I think." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Author Unknown. | A committee is a group of the unwilling, chosen from the unfit, to do the unnecessary. |
Benjamin Franklin | Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn. |
James Allen | Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. |
Seneca | The fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling. |
St. Jerome | No one cares to speak to an unwilling listener. An arrow never lodges in a stone: often it recoils upon the sender of it. |
Thomas Fuller | Nothing is easy to the unwilling. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Magna Carta | 1215 | All those, moveover, in the land who of themselves and of their own accord are unwilling to swear to the twenty five to help them in constraining and molesting us, we shall by our command compel the same to swear to the effect foresaid. (reference) |
John Locke | 1690 | And therefore those, who after Saul's being solemnly chosen and saluted king by the tribes at Mispah, were unwilling to have him their king, made no other objection but this, How shall this man save us? v. (Second Treatise of Government) |
John F. Kennedy | 1961 | Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Covered by the aim of that forest of muskets, several were now unwilling to die. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | They seemed glad to get out themselves, and as if unwilling to be brought in. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Another problem is that in all populations studied, a large proportion of people are unable or unwilling to participate in surveys of dementia. (references) | |
If the owner is unwilling to have this done, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for 6 months and vaccinated 1 month before being released. (references) | ||
In some cases, commercial sponsors of a product may be unable or unwilling to accommodate an FDA request to evaluate the data regarding a currently unlabeled indication for a product used in cancer treatment or to consider filing a supplemental marketing application. (references) | ||
Business | Many Mexican companies are unwilling or unable to provide them. (references) | |
These reports claim that state and (for health and safety) federal labor authorities are unable or unwilling to enforce those provisions. (references) | ||
Prospective applicants should request their lenders to seek SBA participation if the lender is unable or unwilling to make the loan directly. (references) | ||
Children | Congo | RCD/Goma leader Adolphe Onusumba claimed the RCD was attempting to demobilize its child soldiers, but there were numerous credible reports that the RCD continued to conscript child soldiers and to send the unwilling recruits to military training camps in both the country and Rwanda. (references) |
Italy | Schooling is free and compulsory for children from age 7 to age 18; those unable (or unwilling) to follow the academic curriculum are allowed to shift to vocational training at age 15. This reform was intended to reverse the middle and secondary school dropout rate, which historically has been high. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | India | Previously, witnesses had been unwilling to identify Dara Singh. (references) |
Economic History | Bulgaria | The courts have often been unwilling to supervise trustees. (references) |
Senegal | With a highly competitive domestic rice market, Senegalese have been unwilling to pay the higher price of U.S. medium quality rice. (references) | |
Russia | Worker safety is a major unresolved issue, as enterprises are often unable or unwilling to invest in safer equipment or to enforce safety procedures. (references) | |
Human Rights | Indonesia | As a result, witnesses generally are unwilling to testify against the authorities. (references) |
Congo | They sent the unwilling recruits to military training camps both in the country and in Rwanda. (references) | |
Russia | Federal forces interrogated several hundred others who were unwilling or unable to pay the levies. (references) | |
Minorities | Greece | It is estimated that 90 percent of Roma are not insured by the public social security systems, since they are unable or unwilling to make the required contributions. (references) |
Political Economy | CHINA | Authorities usually are unwilling to consult with Chinese and foreign industry representatives before new regulations are implemented. (references) |
Lebanon | Strong Syrian influence over Lebanese politics and decision makers makes officials unwilling to press for further progress on fulfilling Taif agreements, including Syrian withdrawal. (references) | |
Political Rights | Kyrgyz Republic | There were candidate observers in most, if not all, precincts, although they tended to be poorly trained and unwilling to challenge precinct commissions. (references) |
Bangladesh | Party leaders appoint candidates for elections; many allege that some candidates effectively "purchase" nomination from party leaders with generous campaign contributions or personal "gifts." Under a 1996 constitutional amendment, general parliamentary elections are presided over by a caretaker government, led by the most recently retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or, if he is unfit or unwilling, another senior retired justice or other neutral figure. (references) | |
Trade | Taiwan | Performance bonds are forfeited and contracts canceled when foreign construction companies are unwilling to accommodate substantially increased costs within the originally agreed payment. (references) |
Travel | Armenia | Often, they are unwilling to provide necessary information. (references) |
Women | Russia | Police are reluctant and sometimes unwilling to intervene in what they regard as purely domestic disputes. (references) |
Poland | However, NGO's reported that women often are unwilling to report the crime and estimate that the actual number of rapes is 10 times higher than that reported. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Uzbekistan | Many victims are unwilling to come forward due to both societal pressure and the fear of retaliation from their traffickers. (references) |
Angola | In practice neither the Labor Code nor the judicial system are capable of defending these rights, and the Government has been unwilling to enforce them. (references) | |
Albania | Victims often do not identify themselves as trafficked persons and are unwilling to testify due to fear of retribution from traffickers and because of distrust of the police. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | RIGHT, n. Legitimate authority to be, to do or to have; as the right to be a king, the right to do one's neighbor, the right to have measles, and the like. The first of these rights was once universally believed to be derived directly from the will of God; and this is still sometimes affirmed in partibus infidelium outside the enlightened realms of Democracy; as the well known lines of Sir Abednego Bink, following: By what right, then, do royal rulers rule? Whose is the sanction of their state and pow'r? He surely were as stubborn as a mule Who, God unwilling, could maintain an hour His uninvited session on the throne, or air His pride securely in the Presidential chair. Whatever is is so by Right Divine; Whate'er occurs, God wills it so. Good land! It were a wondrous thing if His design A fool could baffle or a rogue withstand! If so, then God, I say (intending no offence) Is guilty of contributory negligence. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | In fact, we are now unwilling to lift a finger unless it's to let another driver know what we think of him. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Grover Cleveland | 1885-1889; 1893-1897 | If we exact from unwilling minds acquiescence in the theory of an honest distribution of the fund of the governmental beneficence treasured up for all, we but insist upon a principle which underlies our free institutions. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Unwilling" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Unwilling" is used about 1,002 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 1,002 | 7,350 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "unwilling": be unwilling ♦ be unwilling for smb. to do smth. ♦ be unwilling to do ♦ be unwilling to do smth. ♦ willing or unwilling. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "unwilling": unwilling-to-be-interviewed. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
unwilling | 16 |
sex unwilling | 6 |
unwilling woman | 4 |
unwilling we | 3 |
facial unwilling | 2 |
forced unwilling | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "unwilling"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | që s'ka prirje, mosdashës (disinclined, reluctant), jo i gatshëm (disinclined, reluctant). (various references) | |
Arabic | كاره (averse, loath, reluctant), مقاوم (adversary, opponent, opposer, reluctant, renitent, resistant), معارض (antagonist, contrary, dissenting, in opposition to, objecting, opposed, opposite, reluctant, resistant, unfavorable, unfavourable), غير مقصود (accidental, unconscious, unwitting), عنيد (adamant, asinine, contrary, coriaceous, die hard, dogged, dour, fractious, hardheaded, headstrong, heady, implacable, incorrigible, inelastic, inexorable, inflexible, intractable, intransigent, inveterate, irreconcilable, mulish, nagging, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, ornery, peevish, persevering, pertinacious, perverse, piggish, pigheaded, refractory, rigid, scabrous, scratchy, self willed, stiff, stiff necked, stout, stubborn, sullen, tenacious, thwart, uncompromising, unruly, unyielding, wilful, willful, wrongheaded), شموس (fractious, intractable, rebellious, recalcitrant, refractory, restive, stubborn). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | несклонен (averse, disinclined, indisposed, loath, loth, reluctant, unapt, undisposed, unwilled), неохотен (averse, backward, reluctant). (various references) | |
Chinese | 不甘 (not resigned to, unreconciled to), 不情願 , 不愿意 (loath, loth, unintended). (various references) | |
Czech | nepovolný (intransigent, relentless, stubborn, uncompliant), neochotný (disobliging, loth, reluctant, unaccommodating, unready), nedobrovolný (involuntary). (various references) | |
Farsi | بی میل (Disinclined, Reluctant, Resentful, Squeamish), بی تمایل (Disinclined). (various references) | |
Finnish | vastahakoinen (reluctant), haluton (apathetic, disinclined, listless, reluctant). (various references) | |
French | rétif, réticent, peu enthousiaste, peu disposé (unripe), involontaire (unintentional, unmeant, unwitting). (various references) | |
German | widerwillig (begrudging, begrudgingly, grudging, reluctant, reluctantly, relucting, unwillingly). (various references) | |
Greek | ακούσιοσ (averse, involuntary, loath, reflex, reluctant, unintended, unintentional), απρόθυμοσ (disinclined, half hearted, indisposed, perfunctory, reluctant), απρόθυμος (half-hearted, reluctant, reluctant to). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לא רוצה (reluctant). (various references) | |
Hungarian | vonakodó (disinclined, grudging, loath, loth, reluctant). (various references) | |
Indonesian | segan (disinclined, grudgingly, loath), ewa (averse). (various references) | |
Italian | riluttante (backward, loath, loth, reluctant), restio (loath, loth, reluctant, restive), non disposto (reluctant). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 出し惜しみ , 不本意 (reluctance), 不承不承 (grudgingly, reluctantly). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ふしょうぶしょう (grudgingly, reluctantly), ふほんい (reluctance), だしおしみ. (various references) | |
Korean | 내키지 않는. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | illingunway.(various references) | |
Portuguese | teimoso (ambivalent, balky, die-hard, dogged, hard-mouthed, headstrong, mulish, obstinate, opinionated, peevish, pertinacious, pigheaded, recalcitrant, refractory, self-willed, stiff-necked, strongwilled, stubborn, tough, tumbler, uncompromising, unmanageable, wayward, wilful, willful, wrong-headed), relutante (averse, loath, loth, reluctant), que não está disposto a, de má vontade (unwillingly). (various references) | |
Romanian | voie (device, humor, humour, liberty, run, will, willingness, wish), silit (artificial, forced, strained, under constraint, unnatural), refractar (fire-resisting, insubordinate, intractable, refractive, refractory, restive, ungovernable, unmanageable), involuntar (accidental, involuntarily, involuntary, undesigned, unwittingly, without meaning it), încãpãţânat (awkward, contumacious, die hard, dogged, dour, hard, headstrong, inveterate, mule, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, opinioned, pertinacious, perverse, pig-headed, refractory, royalist, self willed, stolid, stubborn, tough, wilful). (various references) | |
Russian | несклонный (loath, loth, unapt). (various references) | |
Scottish | leasg (loath; usually : leisg, slothful). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | nevoljan (loath, unready), nerad (inactivity, reluctant), nenaklonjen (undisposed, unfavorable, unfavourable, unfriendly, unpropitious). (various references) | |
Spanish | reacio (adamant, balky, fractious, recalcitrant, refractory, reluctant). (various references) | |
Swedish | ovillig (grudging, loath, loth), ohågad (indisposed, loath), obenägen (disinclined, indisposed, loath, loth, unapt). (various references) | |
Turkish | isteksiz (averse, backward, disinclined, grudging, gutless, halfhearted, indisposed, jaded, languid, loath, loth, reluctant, repugnant, sticky, undesirous, undisposed, wet), gönülsüz (averse, disinclined, grudging, gutless, halfhearted, loath, reluctant, repugnant, sticky, undisposed). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | несхильний (averse, loath, loth), зроблений неохоче. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | không vui lòng không có thiện ý, không bằng lòng (disaffected, disgruntled, dissatisfied, unconsenting, unwillingly). (various references) | |
Welsh | anfodlon (discontented), anfoddol (unseemly), anfoddog (discontented, dissatisfied), anewyllysgar. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | coactus, inviti, invitus, nolens. (various references) |
| Avestan | 200-600 | anusô. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "unwilling": unwillingly, unwillingness, unwillingnesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Unwilling" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Unilinx, unvilling. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "unwilling" (pronounced unwi"ling) |
| 5 | -w i" l i ng | quilling, swilling, willing. |
| 4 | -i" l i ng | billing, chilling, distilling, drilling, filling, fulfilling, grilling, hilling, instilling, killing, milling, Pilling, rilling, Schilling, shilling, skilling, spilling, thrilling, Tilling, trilling, yearling. |
| 3 | -l i ng | annealing, appalling, appealing, ailing, ambling, angling, assailing, assembling, babbling, backpedaling, baffling, bailing, baling, balling, bankrolling, barreling, battling, beguiling, belittling, Belling, bicycling, blackmailing, boggling, boiling, Bolling, bottling, bowling, brawling, bristling, broiling, bubbling, buckling, bugling, bumbling, bundling, bungling, burgling, burling, bustling, cackling, cajoling, calling, canceling, cancelling, Carling, ceiling, channeling, chortling, chronicling, chuckling, circling, coddling, commingling, compelling, compiling, concealing, consoling, controlling, cooling, corralling, counseling, countervailing, coupling, cowling, crackling, cradling, crawling, crippling, crumbling, cuddling, culling, curling, curtailing, cycling, dabbling, dangling, darling, dawdling, dazzling, dealing, decoupling, derailing, detailing, Dialing, disabling, disgruntling, dismantling, dispelling, dissembling, doling, doubling, dribbling, drizzling, drooling, duckling, dueling, dulling, dumpling, dwelling, dwindling, earthling, emailing, embezzling, empaneling, enabling, encircling, enrolling, entailing, entangling, entitling, equaling, excelling, expelling, extolling, failing, falling, feeling, felling, fiddling, filing, fizzling, flailing, fledgling, foaling, foiling, fondling, fooling, forestalling, foretelling, fouling, foundling, freewheeling, fueling, fuelling, fumbling, funneling, galling, gambling, giggling, gobbling, grappling, Grayling, groundling, groveling, growling, grueling, grumbling, gurgling, guzzling, haggling, hailing, handling, hassling, hauling, healing, heckling, helling, hobbling, holing, howling, huddling, humbling, hurdling, hurling, hurtling, hustling, idling, imperiling, inhaling, initialing, inkling, installing, intermingling, jailing, jiggling, jostling, juggling, Keeling, kindling, kneeling, labeling, leveling, lolling, Lulling, mailing, mangling, Marling, marshaling, meddling, Melling, middling, mingling, mishandling, mislabeling, misspelling, modeling, mothballing, mottling, muddling, mulling, mumbling, muscling, nailing, needling, nestling, nibbling, nonruling, oiling, outselling, overbilling, overhauling, overkilling, overruling, overselling, paddling, paneling, panhandling, paralleling, parboiling, parceling, paroling, patrolling, pearling, pedaling, peddling, peeling, pickling, piddling, piling, Pindling, poling, polling, pooling, prevailing, profiling, propelling, prowling, pulling, pummeling, puzzling, quadrupling, quarreling, quelling, quibbling, Quisling, railing, rambling, rankling, rappelling, rattling, raveling, rebelling, recalling, reconciling, recycling, redoubling, reeling, refueling, regaling, rekindling, remodeling, repealing, repelling, rescheduling, reselling, resembling, reshuffling, retailing, retelling, retooling, revealing, reveling, ridiculing, Riesling, rifling, rippling, rivaling, roiling, rolling, rototilling, ruffling, ruling, rumbling, rustling, saddling, sailing, sampling, Sandling, sapling, scaling, scheduling, schooling, scowling, scrambling, scribbling, scuttling, sealing, seedling, Seeling, selling, settling, shelling, shoveling, shriveling, shuffling, shuttling, sibling, signaling, signalling, singling, sizzling, smelling, smiling, smuggling, snarling, Snelling, snowballing, sparkling, Sparling, spelling, spiraling, spiralling, spoiling, sprawling, sprinkling, squabbling, squealing, stalling, stapling, starling, startling, stealing, stenciling, sterling, stifling, stockpiling, stonewalling, storytelling, straddling, strangling, strickling, stripling, strolling, struggling, stumbling, styling, suckling, surveilling, swashbuckling, swelling, swindling, swirling, swiveling, tabling, tackling, tailing, tangling, telling, throttling, tingling, tinkling, toddling, toggling, toiling, tolling, tooling, toppling, totaling, totalling, toweling, trailing, trampling, traveling, travelling, trembling, trickling, trifling, tripling, trolling, troubling, tumbling, tunneling, twiddling, twinkling, twirling, unappealing, unavailing, unbundling, underling, underselling, unfailing, unfeeling, unfurling, unraveling, unsettling, unsmiling, untangling, unveiling, veiling, waffling, waggling, wailing, walling, warbling, weakling, welling, whaling, wheeling, whirling, whistling, whittling, wholesaling, wiggling, wiling, wobbling, wrangling, wrestling, wrinkling, yelling, yodeling. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "g-i-i-l-l-n-n-u-w" | |
-2 letters: nilling, nulling, willing. | |
-3 letters: inulin, lignin, lining, wiling, wining. | |
-4 letters: linin, lungi. | |
-5 letters: gill, gull, iglu, ling, linn, lung, nill, null, will, wing. | |
| Words containing the letters "g-i-i-l-l-n-n-u-w" | |
+2 letters: unwillingly. | |
+4 letters: unwillingness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Spoken | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet | 17. Translations: Modern 18. Translations: Ancient 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
