- (adv.) As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.
- (n.) To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.
- (v.) Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.
- (n.) To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.
- (v.) That which is strongly wished or desired.
- (v.) Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose or determine.
- (n.) To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.
- (v.i.) To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.
- (adv.) To wish; to desire; to incline to have.
- (v.) The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.
- (v.) The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.
- (v.) The legal declaration of a person's mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise. See the Note under Testament, 1.
- (v.i.) To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.
- (v.) The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). will. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/will/definitions/2082032 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "will" http://smartdefine.org/will/definitions/2082032 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, will, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/will/definitions/2082032>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "will" 28 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/will/definitions/2082032> |