as in intentionally
with full awareness of what one is doing
willfully chose to risk pneumonia by jumping into a freezing lake on a dare
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 willfully
He was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with a firearm, shooting at an inhabited building and willfully discharging a firearm in a grossly negilgent manner.
—
Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
This is the Adriana who takes arguments, willfully misinterprets them, and then comes for someone at the worst possible moment.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Hayes previously pleaded guilty to knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Time and time again, college students willfully engage in religious discussions if the intentions of all parties are authentic – often occurring between friends and faculty who adopt critical and inclusive pedagogical approaches in the classroom.
—Matthew Mayhew, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The case, which was originally set to go to trial in December, could have exposed Anthropic to damages of up to $1 trillion if the court found that the company willfully violated copyright law.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
Tate and his brother Tristan willfully describe themselves as misogynists.
—Will Carless, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Yet even in this willfully unproductive use of leisure time, work hovers overhead like a ghost.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
In some cases, providers may be willfully taking advantage of the system, Medicaid director Adela Flores-Brennan said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 13 Aug. 2025
Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
This is the Adriana who takes arguments, willfully misinterprets them, and then comes for someone at the worst possible moment.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Hayes previously pleaded guilty to knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Time and time again, college students willfully engage in religious discussions if the intentions of all parties are authentic – often occurring between friends and faculty who adopt critical and inclusive pedagogical approaches in the classroom.
—Matthew Mayhew, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The case, which was originally set to go to trial in December, could have exposed Anthropic to damages of up to $1 trillion if the court found that the company willfully violated copyright law.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
Tate and his brother Tristan willfully describe themselves as misogynists.
—Will Carless, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Yet even in this willfully unproductive use of leisure time, work hovers overhead like a ghost.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
In some cases, providers may be willfully taking advantage of the system, Medicaid director Adela Flores-Brennan said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willfully
Adverb
-
Verbatim Thurgood Marshall In a speech marking the bicentennial of the US Constitution, Marshall argued that its framers intentionally inscribed slavery into the American economy.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Charlotte Observer asked CATS spokesperson Brett Baldeck whether the agency was intentionally shifting away from armed security.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
City police said the blast before dawn in northern Munich at a residential building, which had been deliberately set on fire, appeared connected to a domestic dispute.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Program officials set a two-year path to mass production following test completion, with full Taiwan manufacture and target unit costs in the low hundreds of thousands USD, deliberately priced for salvo fire.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Willfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willfully. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share