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Definition of "willed" []

  • Having a will of a specified kind. Often used in combination: weak-willed; iron-willed. (adjective)
  • Determined by or proceeding from the will; deliberate: "that most strained, willed, wooden, lifeless of novels” ( Joyce Carol Oates). (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.

Use "willed" in a sentence
  • "Either way, the guilelessness that once had to be willed is now reflexive; and the self-styled literary reader laughs out loud at a farting dog."
  • "One of the arguments it Amuses me to use with people who believe that guns are both inherently evil and somehow self-willed is that there are far more guns in private hands in America now than at almost any time in the past, people seem to be less civil than ever, we find out more often than ever about how utterly wretchedly some politicians treat the citizenry, yet political assassination is less common now than ever it was."
  • "My first child, while exceedingly strong willed, is physically quite mellow and cautious (not to mention somewhat inept), but my second, whoo boy, she’s busy."