against one's will

Idioms & Phrases

against one's will

Without one's consent, forcibly, as in The defendant knew he could not be made to testify against his will. Originally one meaning of will was "acquiescence" or "consent," but this sense survives only in this idiom, which today nearly always implies some use of force. [c. 1400]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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