1
as in bequeaths
to give by means of a will
willed their house to their adult children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in pleases
to see fit
do as you will—I wash my hands of the whole affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in choices
the act or power of making one's own choices or decisions
you cannot force me to do anything against my own will
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of wills
Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
The Moon wills the chart and can make a wishy-washy Libra decisive and direct.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026
Agnes virtually wills her back to life.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Ben was so close to getting this right, but who can tame the strange wills of genius?
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
In 2024 Altman signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment launched by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates to give away at least 50% of their wealth to philanthropy, either during their lifetimes or in their wills.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026
The Patriots will play in Super Bowl LX, thanks to a 10-7 triumph over the Broncos in an AFC Championship that evolved into a wintry battle of wills.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Again, Stroheim presented a very long cut—in the nine-hour range—and found himself in a battle of wills with Thalberg.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
In fact, filming the entire episode was quite the experience as the actress spent a lot of time arguing with herself as Maddie and Sara engaged in a battle of wills for control over the call center.
—Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
In a modern world where free will is taken as a given, fate might be best understood as the tangle of powers that facilitate or obstruct individual wills.
—Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott star in this wild psychosexual thriller, which finds a dominatrix and a young heir engaging in a battle of wills over one night in a hotel room.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025
Verb
In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
The Moon wills the chart and can make a wishy-washy Libra decisive and direct.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026
Agnes virtually wills her back to life.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
That’s especially true now that the company is locked in a war of wills with the US military over the use of its AI models.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Ben was so close to getting this right, but who can tame the strange wills of genius?
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
In 2024 Altman signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment launched by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates to give away at least 50% of their wealth to philanthropy, either during their lifetimes or in their wills.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026
The Patriots will play in Super Bowl LX, thanks to a 10-7 triumph over the Broncos in an AFC Championship that evolved into a wintry battle of wills.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Again, Stroheim presented a very long cut—in the nine-hour range—and found himself in a battle of wills with Thalberg.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
In fact, filming the entire episode was quite the experience as the actress spent a lot of time arguing with herself as Maddie and Sara engaged in a battle of wills for control over the call center.
—Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
In a modern world where free will is taken as a given, fate might be best understood as the tangle of powers that facilitate or obstruct individual wills.
—Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott star in this wild psychosexual thriller, which finds a dominatrix and a young heir engaging in a battle of wills over one night in a hotel room.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wills
Verb
-
Ellie does a great job with Christian’s birthday cake, which pleases Ben.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
-
That creates healthy breadth readings and pleases professional stock pickers, though in the past has not been associated with strong index advances.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To make money talks less tense, prioritize choices that reflect your true worth.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Best known for starring as the titular character in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Clarissa Explains It All, Hart also took part in the trend, commenting on the fashion while also posting several photos of her own unique ’90s fashion choices.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Still, the privacy inherent in private credit often leaves an information vacuum that observers fill with worst-case scenarios.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Tender’s assets Tender CEO Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella) engineers the downfall of co-founder Jonah Atterbury (Kal Penn) and eventually leaves Henry holding the bag for the company’s fraud.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The police dispatcher, who now wishes to remain anonymous, is a 22-year-old who's serving in the Navy Reserve.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Miss Manners only wishes everyone would calm down.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That’s the version of himself Arenas wants to recapture.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
In the Afrikaans world of my childhood, dancing often meant the stolid vastrap (tight-step), the terrible langarm (long-arm, a two-step that desperately wants to be a one-step), or, worst of all, volkspele (national or popular games), compulsory in Afrikaans-medium state-run schools.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wills. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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