1
: voluntary choice or decision
I do this of my own free will
2
: freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Adjective
a freewill confession of guilt made by the suspect during police interrogation
our office staff made a freewill offering for UNESCO
Noun
He argues that all humans have free will.
all of the workers at the homeless shelter are unpaid and are there of their own free will
Recent Examples on the Web
Dallas News, 30 Nov. 2022
All, too, will take place without a live audience and include links for freewill donations to nonprofits supporting Cleveland-area musicians and musical programs during coronavirus.
—Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 2 June 2020
The free community event is sponsored by Spiritual Church of Escondido; freewill offering will be accepted.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2019
Admission for the event sponsored by the Friends of the Rancho Bernardo Library is free; freewill donations will be accepted for musicians.
—Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, 30 Apr. 2018
There is no charge for this concert; freewill donations for musicians are encouraged.
—Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, 9 Apr. 2018
The series’ third and final concert holds chamber works by French composers of Les Six. 4 p.m. Sunday, Southminster Presbyterian Church, 916 E. Central Road, Arlington Heights; freewill donation; 847-902-0733.
—John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 1 June 2017
Freewill offerings will benefit the Georgetown Ministry Center, which aids service-resistant, chronically homeless individuals and advocates for the homeless.
—Gerri Marmer, Washington Post, 5 May 2017
The Indianapolis Star, 22 Sep. 2022
Your free will?
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Dec. 2022
Somewhere deep within the gargantuan proportions of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony there has always resided a bundle of tensions or even contradictions — between form and content, art and life, fate and free will, the grotesque and the beautiful.
—Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Oct. 2022
God granted us free will.
—Rabbi Steve Leder, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2022
Chubais resigned of his own free will.
—Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2022
Does anyone have free will?
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Dec. 2021
For years, Purdue and the Sacklers argued that people become addicted to drugs of their own free will, and that the company—and the family that owned it—should not be held responsible for the rash decisions of others.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
Jebb also added that junk advertising may undermine people’s free will due to its influence.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 18 Jan. 2023
See More
Adjective
Coach for Men captures the never-resting energy of the city that never sleeps and the freewill spontaneity of all those who call it home.
—Dallas News, 30 Nov. 2022
All, too, will take place without a live audience and include links for freewill donations to nonprofits supporting Cleveland-area musicians and musical programs during coronavirus.
—Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 2 June 2020
The free community event is sponsored by Spiritual Church of Escondido; freewill offering will be accepted.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2019
Admission for the event sponsored by the Friends of the Rancho Bernardo Library is free; freewill donations will be accepted for musicians.
—Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, 30 Apr. 2018
There is no charge for this concert; freewill donations for musicians are encouraged.
—Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, 9 Apr. 2018
The series’ third and final concert holds chamber works by French composers of Les Six. 4 p.m. Sunday, Southminster Presbyterian Church, 916 E. Central Road, Arlington Heights; freewill donation; 847-902-0733.
—John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 1 June 2017
Freewill offerings will benefit the Georgetown Ministry Center, which aids service-resistant, chronically homeless individuals and advocates for the homeless.
—Gerri Marmer, Washington Post, 5 May 2017
Noun
Our free will, that’s what will kill us.
—The Indianapolis Star, 22 Sep. 2022
Your free will?
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Dec. 2022
Somewhere deep within the gargantuan proportions of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony there has always resided a bundle of tensions or even contradictions — between form and content, art and life, fate and free will, the grotesque and the beautiful.
—Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Oct. 2022
God granted us free will.
—Rabbi Steve Leder, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2022
Chubais resigned of his own free will.
—Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2022
Does anyone have free will?
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Dec. 2021
For years, Purdue and the Sacklers argued that people become addicted to drugs of their own free will, and that the company—and the family that owned it—should not be held responsible for the rash decisions of others.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
Jebb also added that junk advertising may undermine people’s free will due to its influence.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 18 Jan. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'freewill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near freewill
Cite this Entry
“Freewill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freewill. Accessed 7 Jun. 2023.
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