unwilling

adjective

un·​will·​ing ˌən-ˈwi-liŋ 

: not willing:

a

: loath, reluctant

was unwilling to learn

b

: done or given reluctantly

unwilling approval

c

: offering opposition : obstinate

an unwilling student

unwillingly

ˌən-ˈwi-liŋ-lē 

adverb

unwillingness noun

Synonyms of unwilling

• forced
• spontaneous
• accidental
• coerced

Examples of unwilling in a Sentence

He was an unwilling participant in the demonstration.

unwilling contributions from city employees who felt pressured to do so

Recent Examples on the Web

That growth takes money, a bet that some financiers are unwilling to make, Strautmanis conceded. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026

In Anthropic’s telling, the result was an off‑the‑books pipeline that turned Claude into an unwilling teacher for models being developed inside China’s increasingly competitive AI sector. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026

Iran continues to be unwilling to even discuss its ballistic missile program. —Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, The Conversation, 17 Feb. 2026

White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats' demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique ID numbers. —Arkansas Online, 16 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unwilling

• backfilling
• distilling
• fulfilling
• infilling
• instilling
• refilling
• sawmilling
• billing
• chilling
• drilling
• filling
• grilling

Kids Definition

unwilling

adjective

un·​will·​ing ˌən-ˈwil-iŋ 

ˈən-

: not willing

unwillingly adverb

unwillingness noun