He was an unwilling participant in the demonstration. unwilling contributions from city employees who felt pressured to do so
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
This journey was born of individual states granting student athletes the right to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL), without jeopardizing their amateur status, an initiative the NCAA had been unwilling to take on.—Eddie Edwards Jr, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026 Elevated crime rates have led California voters to increasingly voice their frustrations and state and local officials who prove unable – or unwilling – to tackle the crime epidemic.—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025 The country was already buckling under decades of financial mismanagement, an upside-down tax system, obstructionist high courts, and a monarchy unwilling to modernize.—Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 29 Dec. 2025 Despite suggesting local chicken shops or buying frozen food, the family was unwilling to consider alternatives.—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unwilling
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of unwilling was
before the 12th century
Share