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Will vs. Nill — What's the Difference?

Will vs. Nill — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Will and Nill

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Will

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action
Championed freedom of will against a doctrine of predetermination.

Nill

Not to will; not to wish.

Will

Diligent purposefulness; determination
An athlete with the will to win.

Nill

To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).

Will

Self-control; self-discipline
Lacked the will to overcome the addiction.
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Nill

To be unwilling.

Will

A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority
It is the sovereign's will that the prisoner be spared.

Nill

To reject, refuse, negate.

Will

Deliberate intention or wish
Let it be known that I took this course of action against my will.

Nill

Shining sparks thrown off from melted brass.

Will

Free discretion; inclination or pleasure
Wandered about, guided only by will.

Nill

Scales of hot iron from the forge.

Will

Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition
Full of good will.

Nill

(obsolete) zinc oxide, particularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics.

Will

A legal declaration of how a person wishes their personal possessions to be disposed of after death.

Nill

Not to will; to refuse; to reject.
Certes, said he, I nill thine offered grace.

Will

A legally executed document containing this declaration.

Nill

To be unwilling; to refuse to act.
The actions of the will are "velle" and "nolle," to will and nill.

Will

To decide on or intend
He can finish the race if he wills it.

Nill

Shining sparks thrown off from melted brass.

Will

To yearn for; desire
“She makes you will your own destruction” (George Bernard Shaw).

Nill

Scales of hot iron from the forge.

Will

To decree, dictate, or order
Believed that the outcome was willed by the gods.

Will

To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will
We willed the sun to come out.

Will

To grant in a legal will; bequeath
Willed his fortune to charity.

Will

To order to direct in a legal will
She willed that her money be given to charity.

Will

To exercise the will.

Will

To make a choice; choose
Do as you will.

Will

To wish; desire
Do what you will. Sit here if you will. See Usage Note at shall.

Will

(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.
One of our salesmen will visit you tomorrow.
I will pass this exam.

Will

(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.
Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.

Will

(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".
He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.
I can't find my umbrella. I will have forgotten it home this morning.

Will

(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).
Boys will be boys.

Will

(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation.
Will you marry me?
I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.

Will

To wish, desire (something).
Do what you will.

Will

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

Will

(archaic) Implying will go.

Will

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

Will

(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).
He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.

Will

(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.
All the fans were willing their team to win the game.

Will

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.

Will

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
Most creatures have a will to live.

Will

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.

Will

Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent

Will

(law) A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.

Will

(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.

Will

(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)
He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Will

The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.
It is necessary to form a distinct notion of what is meant by the word "volition" in order to understand the import of the word will, for this last word expresses the power of mind of which "volition" is the act.
Will is an ambiguous word, being sometimes put for the faculty of willing; sometimes for the act of that faculty, besides [having] other meanings. But "volition" always signifies the act of willing, and nothing else.
Appetite is the will's solicitor, and the will is appetite's controller; what we covet according to the one, by the other we often reject.
The will is plainly that by which the mind chooses anything.

Will

The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.
The word "will," however, is not always used in this its proper acceptation, but is frequently substituted for "volition", as when I say that my hand mover in obedience to my will.

Will

The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.
Thy will be done.
Our prayers should be according to the will of God.

Will

Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.
My poverty, but not my will, consents; . . . Put this in any liquid thing you will,And drink it off.

Will

That which is strongly wished or desired.
What's your will, good friar?
The mariner hath his will.

Will

Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies.

Will

The legal declaration of a person's mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise. See the Note under Testament, 1.

Will

To wish; to desire; to incline to have.
A wife as of herself no thing ne sholde [should]Wille in effect, but as her husband wolde [would].
Caleb said unto her, What will thou ?
They would none of my counsel.

Will

As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.
I am able to devote as much time and attention to other subjects as I will [shall] be under the necessity of doing next winter.
A countryman, telling us what he had seen, remarked that if the conflagration went on, as it was doing, we would [should] have, as our next season's employment, the Old Town of Edinburgh to rebuild.
I feel assured that I will [shall] not have the misfortune to find conflicting views held by one so enlightened as your excellency.

Will

To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.
And behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus . . . touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.

Will

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.
By all law and reason, that which the Parliament will not, is no more established in this kingdom.
Two things he [God] willeth, that we should be good, and that we should be happy.

Will

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.
They willed me say so, madam.
Send for music,And will the cooks to use their best of cunningTo please the palate.
As you go, will the lord mayor . . . To attend our further pleasure presently.

Will

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

Will

To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.
At Winchester he lies, so himself willed.
He that shall turn his thoughts inward upon what passes in his own mind when he wills.
I contend for liberty as it signifies a power in man to do as he wills or pleases.

Will

The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention;
The exercise of their volition we construe as revolt

Will

A fixed and persistent intent or purpose;
Where there's a will there's a way

Will

A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

Will

Decree or ordain;
God wills our existence

Will

Have in mind;
I will take the exam tomorrow

Will

Determine by choice;
This action was willed and intended

Will

Leave or give by will after one's death;
My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry
My grandfather left me his entire estate

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