Definition of "lief" []

• Readily; willingly: I would as lief go now as later. (adverb)
• Archaic Beloved; dear. (adjective)
• Archaic Ready or willing. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I should have proposed, -- _with good_ lief, in the same sense, but that I cannot find _lief_ to be a substantive."
• "Souns like Matt madez menny frenz even in short lief, grate compliment tu him and tu yur reering uv him!"
• "In short, we "believe" (note a root meaning of "belief" is "lief" -- which is wishful thinking) what we believe mostly because we have been massively socially/culturally programmed to have these beliefs."