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verb
Idioms1.
a simple past tense and past participle of will1.
2.
(used to express the future in past sentences): He said he would go tomorrow.
3.
(used in place of will, to make a statement or form a question less direct or blunt): That would scarcely be fair. Would you be so kind?
4.
(used to express repeated or habitual action in the past): We would visit Grandma every morning up at the farm.
5.
EXPAND(used to express an intention or inclination): Nutritionists would have us all eat whole grains.
6.
(used to express a wish): Would he were here!
7.
(used to express an uncertainty): It would appear that he is guilty.
8.
(used in conditional sentences to express choice or possibility): They would come if they had the fare. If the temperature were higher, the water would evaporate.
9.
COLLAPSEwould have, (used with a past participle to express unfulfilled intention or preference): I would have saved you some but Jimmy took it all.
10.
would like, (used to express desire): I would like to go next year.
11.
would rather. rather (def. 8).
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Would
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
weld2.
will
1
[wil] auxiliary verb and verb, present singular 1st person will, 2nd will or (Archaic) wilt, 3rd will, present plural will; past singular 1st person would, 2nd would or (Archaic) wouldst, 3rd would, past plural would; past participle (Obsolete) wold or would; imperative, infinitive, and pres. participle lacking. 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. This will be right.
5.
EXPANDam (is, are, etc.) determined or sure to (used emphatically): You would do it. People will talk.
6.
am (is, are, etc.) accustomed to, or do usually or often: You will often see her sitting there. He would write for hours at a time.
7.
am (is, are, etc.) habitually disposed or inclined to: Boys will be boys. After dinner they would read aloud.
8.
am (is, are, etc.) capable of; can: This tree will live without water for three months.
9.
COLLAPSEam (is, are, etc.) going to: I will bid you “Good night.”
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
10.
to wish; desire; like: Go where you will. Ask, if you will, who the owner is.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English willen, Old English wyllan; cognate with Dutch willen, German wollen, Old Norse vilja, Gothic wiljan; akin to Latin velle to wish
before 900; Middle English willen, Old English wyllan; cognate with Dutch willen, German wollen, Old Norse vilja, Gothic wiljan; akin to Latin velle to wish
noun
1.
the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over its own actions: the freedom of the will.
2.
power of choosing one's own actions: to have a strong or a weak 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.
EXPANDpurpose or determination, often hearty or stubborn determination; willfulness: 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.
COLLAPSELaw.
a.
a legal declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his or her property or estate after death, usually written and signed by the testator and attested by witnesses.
b.
the document containing such a declaration.
verb (used with object)
9.
to decide, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of the will: He can walk if he wills it.
10.
to purpose, determine on, or elect, by an act of will: If he wills success, he can find it.
11.
to give or dispose of (property) by a will or testament; bequeath or devise.
12.
to influence by exerting will power: She was willed to walk the tightrope by the hypnotist.
verb (used without object)
Idiom13.
to exercise the will: To will is not enough, one must do.
14.
to decide or determine: Others debate, but the king wills.
15.
at will,
a.
at one's discretion or pleasure; as one desires: to wander at will through the countryside.
b.
at one's disposal or command.
Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English will(e), Old English will(a); cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Old Norse vili, Gothic wilja; (v.) Middle English willen, Old English willian to wish, desire, derivative of the noun; akin to will1
before 900; (noun) Middle English will(e), Old English will(a); cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Old Norse vili, Gothic wilja; (v.) Middle English willen, Old English willian to wish, desire, derivative of the noun; akin to will1
Related forms
will·er, noun
Synonyms
3. choice. 4. pleasure, disposition, inclination. 5. resolution, decision. Will, volition refer to conscious choice as to action or thought. Will denotes fixed and persistent intent or purpose: Where there's a will there's a way. Volition is the power of forming an intention or the incentive for using the will: to exercise one's volition in making a decision. 9. determine. 11. leave.
3. choice. 4. pleasure, disposition, inclination. 5. resolution, decision. Will, volition refer to conscious choice as to action or thought. Will denotes fixed and persistent intent or purpose: Where there's a will there's a way. Volition is the power of forming an intention or the incentive for using the will: to exercise one's volition in making a decision. 9. determine. 11. leave.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To would
Collins
World English Dictionary
| would (wʊd, (unstressed) wəd) | |
| —vb (takes an infinitive without to | |
| 1. | used as an auxiliary to form the past tense or subjunctive mood of will |
| 2. | used as an auxiliary to indicate willingness or desire in a polite manner: would you help me, please? |
| 3. | used as an auxiliary to describe a past action as being accustomed or habitual: every day we would go for walks |
| 4. | I wish: would that he were here |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
will
O.E. will, willa, from P.Gmc. *weljon (cf. O.S. willio, O.N. vili, O.Fris. willa, Du. wil, O.H.G. willio, Ger. wille, Goth. wilja "will"), related to *willan "to wish" (see will (v.)). The meaning "written document expressing a person's wishes about disposition of property
EXPAND after death" is first recorded c.1380.
would
O.E. wolde, past tense of willan "to will" (see will (v.)). Would-be (adj.) "wishing, pretending" is first recorded c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
would
In addition to the idioms beginning with would, also see as luck would have it; fly on the wall, would like to be a. Also see under wouldn't.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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Idioms & Phrases
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