as in conscious
made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing
a hard-nosed industrialist with a willed indifference to public opinion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bequeathed
to give by means of a will
willed their house to their adult children
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in pleased
to see fit
do as you will—I wash my hands of the whole affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of willed
Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 Nov. 2025
Given no choice, María Ángeles acquiesces to her daughter’s wishes and moves into the seniors’ home, where a hilarious exchange with a hairdresser wanting to chop off her long silver tresses typifies her iron-willed refusal to settle in.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Pope Francis fervently willed the Acutis sainthood case forward — convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willed
Adjective
Behind a strong willed business demeanor, however, lay a heart of gold.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 Nov. 2025
Given no choice, María Ángeles acquiesces to her daughter’s wishes and moves into the seniors’ home, where a hilarious exchange with a hairdresser wanting to chop off her long silver tresses typifies her iron-willed refusal to settle in.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
His birth overshadowed by his family’s greatest tragedy, Daniel found succor in movies and willed himself into the dreamworld of Hollywood.
—David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Pope Francis fervently willed the Acutis sainthood case forward — convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willed
Adjective
-
Banfield said his wife, still conscious at the time, directed him to apply pressure to her wounds to slow the bleeding.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Amanda Askell, Anthropic’s in-house philosopher, is sounding pretty conflicted about whether AI models can be conscious and have feelings.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Complicating matters further, Charles has bequeathed his school to his frenemy Magneto.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Given to Princess Mary as a wedding gift by the County of Lincoln, it was later bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth.—
Nicole Briese,
PEOPLE,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Kennedy’s concern with productivity would have pleased Charles Davenport, a powerful leader of 20th-century American eugenics.—
Sarah DiGregorio,
Vanity Fair,
16 Jan. 2026
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The Monarchs gave JSerra little opportunity to make an offensive threat, and that pleased Mater Dei coach Sean Ganey.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Zelenskyy condemned the strike late Sunday, calling it another deliberate attack on civilians.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
-
But the blanks in D__’s name, like everything else in Poppick’s portrait of a poet as an aging millennial man, are deliberate.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Some folks who were moving a little slow, some folks wanted to dilute the Canadiana or the Big C Canadian of it.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Right before the crash, discussions captured on the cockpit voice recorder indicated that the pilot wanted the landing gear to be launched.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Gerardo Magallanes, who was also charged for the same crime, was sentenced to 24 years and eight months in prison on a voluntary manslaughter charge, according to court records.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Based on the recent agreements that brought 14 of the 17 largest drugmakers into voluntary pricing arrangements with the administration, most are likely to continue to follow the second path.—
Robert Pearl,
Twin Cities,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While some took his statement in good faith and wished Ye well on his recovery journey, others were more skeptical and questioned the timing of this apology, given that his upcoming album, Bully, is slated to drop January 30.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2026
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Rolland said he's spent a decent amount of time at a neighboring laundromat in recent months and had wished there was a spot like Plant Joy Deli to stop in while waiting for clothes to dry.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But those posts haven’t always reached their intended audience.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026
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For the design expert, that means nothing sticks around that doesn’t belong, and everything that does fit the closet’s intended purpose is given a home.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Willed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willed. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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