will 1
(wĭl)n.1. The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action: championed freedom of will against a doctrine of predetermination.
2. a. Diligent purposefulness; determination: an athlete with the will to win.
b. Self-control; self-discipline: lacked the will to overcome the addiction.
3. A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority: It is the sovereign's will that the prisoner be spared.
4. Deliberate intention or wish: Let it be known that I took this course of action against my will.
5. Free discretion; inclination or pleasure: wandered about, guided only by will.
6. Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition: full of good will.
7. a. A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death.
b. A legally executed document containing this declaration.
v. willed, will·ing, wills
v.tr.1. a. To decide on or intend: He can finish the race if he wills it.
b. To yearn for; desire: "She makes you will your own destruction" (George Bernard Shaw).
c. To decree, dictate, or order: believed that the outcome was willed by the gods.
2. To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will: We willed the sun to come out.
3. a. To grant in a legal will; bequeath: willed his fortune to charity.
b. To order to direct in a legal will: She willed that her money be given to charity.
v.intr.1. To exercise the will.
2. To make a choice; choose: Do as you will.
Idiom: at will Just as or when one wishes.
will 2
(wĭl)aux.v. Past tense would (wo͝od) 1. Used to indicate simple futurity: They will appear later.
2. Used to indicate likelihood or certainty: You will regret this.
3. Used to indicate willingness: Will you help me with this package?
4. Used to indicate requirement or command: You will report to me afterward.
5. Used to indicate intention: I will too if I feel like it.
6. Used to indicate customary or habitual action: People will talk.
7. Used to indicate capacity or ability: This metal will not crack under heavy pressure.
8. Used to indicate probability or expectation: That will be the messenger ringing.
tr. & intr.v. To wish; desire:
Do what you will. Sit here if you will. See Usage Note at
shall.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
will
(wɪl) vb,
past would1. (esp with:
you, he, she, it, they, or a noun as subject) used as an auxiliary to make the future tense. Compare
shall1 2. used as an auxiliary to express resolution on the part of the speaker: I will buy that radio if it's the last thing I do.
3. used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire: will you help me with this problem?.
4. used as an auxiliary to express compulsion, as in commands: you will report your findings to me tomorrow.
5. used as an auxiliary to express capacity or ability: this rope will support a load.
6. used as an auxiliary to express probability or expectation on the part of the speaker: that will be Jim telephoning.
7. used as an auxiliary to express customary practice or inevitability: boys will be boys.
8. (with the infinitive always implied) used as an auxiliary to express desire: usually in polite requests: stay if you will.
9. what you will whatever you like
10. will do informal a declaration of willingness to do what is requested
[Old English willan; related to Old Saxon willian, Old Norse vilja, Old High German wollen, Latin velle to wish, will]
will
(wɪl) n1. the faculty of conscious and deliberate choice of action; volition.
2. the act or an instance of asserting a choice
3. (Law)
a. the declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death. testamentary
b. a revocable instrument by which such wishes are expressed
4. anything decided upon or chosen, esp by a person in authority; desire; wish
5. determined intention: where there's a will there's a way.
6. disposition or attitude towards others: he bears you no ill will.
7. at will at one's own desire, inclination, or choice
8. with a will heartily; energetically
9. with the best will in the world even with the best of intentions
vb (
mainly tr; often takes a clause as object or an infinitive)
10. (also intr) to exercise the faculty of volition in an attempt to accomplish (something): he willed his wife's recovery from her illness.
11. (Law) to give (property) by will to a person, society, etc: he willed his art collection to the nation.
12. (also intr) to order or decree: the king wills that you shall die.
13. to choose or prefer: wander where you will.
14. to yearn for or desire: to will that one's friends be happy.
[Old English willa; related to Old Norse vili, Old High German willeo (German Wille), Gothic wilja, Old Slavonic volja]
ˈwiller n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
will1
(wɪl)
auxiliary v.andv., pres. will; auxiliary verb. 1. am (is, are, etc.) about or going to: I will be there tomorrow. She will see you at dinner.
2. am (is, are, etc.) disposed or willing to: People will do right.
3. am (is, are, etc.) expected or required to: You will report to the principal at once.
4. may be expected or supposed to: You will not have forgotten him.
5. am (is, are, etc.) determined or sure to (used emphatically): People will talk.
6. am (is, are, etc.) accustomed to, or do usually or often: She would write for hours at a time.
7. am (is, are, etc.) habitually disposed or inclined to: Tyrants will be tyrants.
8. am (is, are, etc.) capable of; can: This tree will live without water for three months.
v.t., v.i. 9. to wish; desire; like: Take what you will. Ask, if you will, who the owner is.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English wyllan, c. Old Saxon willian, Old Norse vilja, Gothic wiljan; akin to Latin velle to wish]
will2
(wɪl)
n. 1. the faculty of conscious and particularly of deliberate action: the freedom of the will.
2. power of choosing one's own actions: to have a strong will.
3. the act or process of using or asserting one's choice; volition: My hands are obedient to my will.
4. wish or desire: to submit against one's will.
5. purpose or determination: to have the will to succeed.
6. the wish or purpose as carried out, or to be carried out: to work one's will.
7. disposition, whether good or ill, toward another.
8. a legal document in which a person specifies the disposition of his or her property after death. Compare
testament. v.t. 9. to decide upon, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of will: He can walk if he wills it.
10. to purpose, determine on, or elect by act of will: If you will success, you can find it.
11. to dispose of (property) by a will; bequeath.
12. to influence by or as if by exerting will power: I willed her to survive the crisis.
v.i. 13. to exercise the will.
14. to decide or determine: Others debate, but the king wills.
Idioms: at will, as one desires; whenever one chooses: to wander off at will.
[before 900; Middle English
will(e), Old English
will(a), c. Old Saxon
willio, Old High German
willo, Old Norse
vili, Gothic
wilja; akin to
will1]
will′er, n.
will′-less, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
shall
will1. 'shall' and 'will'Shall and will are used to make statements and ask questions about the future.
Shall and will are not usually pronounced in full after a pronoun. When writing down what someone has said, the contraction 'll is usually used after the pronoun, instead of writing shall or will in full.
He'll come back.
'They'll be late,' he said.
Shall and will have the negative forms shall not and will not. In speech, these are usually shortened to shan't /ʃɑːnt/ and won't /wəʊnt/. Shan't is rather old-fashioned, and is rarely used in American English.
I shan't ever do it again.
You won't need a coat.
It used to be considered correct to write shall after I or we, and will after any other pronoun or noun phrase. Now, most people write will after I and we, and this is not regarded as incorrect, although I shall and we shall are still sometimes used.
I hope some day I will meet you.
We will be able to help.
I shall be out of the office on Monday.
There are a few special cases in which you use shall, rather than 'will':
2. suggestionsYou can make a suggestion about what you and someone else should do by asking a question beginning with 'Shall we...?'
Shall we go out for dinner?
You can also suggest what you and someone else should do by using a sentence that begins with 'Let's...' and ends with '...shall we?'
Let's have a cup of tea, shall we?
3. asking for adviceYou can use shall I or shall we when you are asking for suggestions or advice.
What shall I give them for dinner?
Where shall we meet?
4. offeringYou can say 'Shall I... ?' when you are offering to do something.
Shall I shut the door?
Will also has some special uses:
5. requestsYou can use will you to make a request.
Will you take these upstairs for me, please?
Don't tell anyone, will you?
6. invitationsYou can also use will you or the negative form won't you to make an invitation. Won't you is very formal and polite.
Will you stay to lunch?
Won't you sit down, Sir?
7. abilityWill is sometimes used to say that someone or something is able to do something.
This will get rid of your headache.
The car won't start.
Be Careful!
You don't normally use 'shall' or 'will' in clauses beginning with words and expressions such as when, before, or as soon as. Instead you use the present simple. Don't say, for example, 'I'll call as soon as I shall get home'. Say 'I'll call as soon as I get home'.
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