willy-nilly

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From an original will I, nill I, or will he, nill he, or will ye, nill ye, which means “if I/he/ye are willing, if I/he/ye are not willing”, that is “whether I/he/ye are willing or not”; see will, nill.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˌwɪliˈnɪli/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adverb

willy-nilly (comparative more willy-nilly, superlative most willy-nilly)

  1. Whether desired or not.
    • 1954, Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, Chatto & Windus, page 36:
      The outer world is what we wake up to every morning of our lives, is the place where, willy-nilly, we must try to make our living.
    • 1894, Thomas Hardy, Hearts Insurgent, in Harper's Magazine, Volume XC, Number 536, page 195:
      He says he shall come for me willy-nilly, and father and mother say I must have him!
  2. Without regard for consequences or the will of those affected.
    So people chasing money churn out novels willy-nilly.
  3. Seemingly at random, haphazardly
    The novel Alice in Wonderland describes a place where random things happen all willy-nilly.

Synonyms

Translations
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Translations to be checked

Adjective

willy-nilly (comparative more willy-nilly, superlative most willy-nilly)

  1. vacillating

References
  1. Willy-nilly, World Wide Words, by Michael Quinion
  • For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:willy-nilly.
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