willfully

adverb

Definition of willfullynext
as in intentionally
with full awareness of what one is doing willfully chose to risk pneumonia by jumping into a freezing lake on a dare

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of willfully On March 24, a jury in New Mexico ruled that the social media giant willfully violated consumer protection laws by harming children's mental health through its deceptive product design. — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026 Voters should understand that these decisions are made willfully and with plenty of warnings. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2026 As China expands its legal power, the United States is willfully eroding its own. — Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026 The person, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully causing a fire resulting in injury to fires, obstructing or delaying a police investigation and willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying a fire investigation. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 Contempt of Congress is a federal misdemeanor in which an individual willfully disobeys or impedes a congressional investigation. — Connor Greene, Time, 6 Aug. 2026 Inside the courtroom, Begoun told the judge and prosecutor what had happened and argued his client had not willfully failed to appear. — Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026 Kohberger admitted in court to committing the murders willfully and with premeditation. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 29 July 2026 The special counsel nevertheless concluded that the Justice Department would be unlikely to secure a conviction because prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Biden acted willfully. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 27 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willfully
  1. intentionally
  2. deliberately
Adverb
  • Prosecutors argued at trial that Shirilla intentionally drove into the building to end her toxic relationship with Russo and that Flanagan was an unintended victim who happened to be in the car.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Portman actually released no statement, and many critics noted that Cusk’s novel is more of an intentionally disorienting examination of the artifices of self and celebrity than a tell-all roman à clef.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of intentionally
Adverb
  • Smotrich and his partners have dispersed new settlements in places with high tactical importance, deliberately separating areas under Palestinian control to disrupt the territorial continuity that could one day form the basis of a Palestinian state.
    — Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In other words, the curtains were part of the plan, not a last-minute attempt to conceal thousands of empty seats — and Carlile was working within an arena deliberately reshaped to fit the occasion.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of deliberately

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willfully
willfulness
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Cite this Entry

“Willfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willfully. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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