willed 1 of 2

adjective

ˈwild How to pronounce willed (audio)
Definition of willednext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

willed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of will
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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of willed
Adjective
In addition to Marmee, there’s Aunt March who serves as an even stronger willed maternal figure for the March sisters. — Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026 Toolson made his first five shots in the second half and almost willed TCU to a comeback by himself. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
Jarit Johnson and the others failed to restore the 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup truck her grandfather willed her, Tomko says. — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 29 July 2026 The buzz began to build inside Hard Rock Stadium, capacity 64,478, as the England crowd willed its side forward. — Russell Lewis, NPR, 11 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for willed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willed
  1. conscious
  2. bequeathed
  3. pleased
  4. deliberate
  5. wanted
  6. voluntary
  7. wished
  8. intended
Adjective
  • More generally, the movie, directed by Elegance Bratton, is about the historical context of this murder, the conscious and organized effort by white Southern citizens and officials to intimidate, persecute, and subjugate Black people.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Devin Oktar Yalkin About PhotoVogue PhotoVogue is a global Condé Nast initiative dedicated to supporting artists and shaping a more conscious visual culture.
    — Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of conscious
Verb
  • More than a century after a rare painting, recently attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was bequeathed to the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien in 1920, the painting, Portrait of an Old Man, will go on display on December 2, per reports.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Youthful ambition bequeathed them unpredictably shifting time signatures, a daunting nylon-string intro, some odd musical shifts during the guitar-solo section, and a long list of other complexities.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of bequeathed
Verb
  • The manner in which Marcos Llorente’s opener for Atletico transpired would not have pleased Andoni Iraola, even if the Spaniard needs time for his team to understand his out-of-possession demands.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Morgan’s resolute denials pleased his family and friends, but in fact he was deeply rattled.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of pleased
Adjective
  • There were two small red stripes on a sail, clearly deliberate but out of place.
    — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Talking at the film’s press conference in Venice earlier, Moretti said his absence from from the festival had not been a deliberate slight but rather down to the timing for the shoots of his films.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of deliberate
Verb
  • Lottie Shackelford wanted to stay close to her children and to help their teachers.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The brothers also may have wanted to dodge questions regarding rumors about a new tour, with the band posting cryptic teasers on social media the past several days.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of wanted
Adjective
  • Colonizers call it voluntary emigration, but there is nothing voluntary about fleeing after your home has been bombed, your fields poisoned, your water cut off and your child buried.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The News More than two dozen organizations from both the left and right are urging the White House to publicly release its voluntary AI security framework, per a letter shared first with Semafor.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of voluntary
Verb
  • The paper was a propaganda tool, and whatever Grossman may have wished to write, at first all the editors would permit were inspiring, deadly earnest pieces full of generalities.
    — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Lopez wished all her followers a happy Labor Day by capturing a summery style moment.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of wished
Adjective
  • The company says the plant could provide roughly 400 MW of electrical power without the risk of plasma disruptions, supporting its intended role as a source of baseload energy.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Instead of only asking whether malware was detected, ask whether a user’s behavior changed, a workload is communicating somewhere unusual, large amounts of data are moving unexpectedly or an AI agent is operating outside its intended scope.
    — Scott Alldridge, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of intended

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Cite this Entry

“Willed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willed. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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