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# unwilling

adjective (unwilling); adverb unwillingly; noun unwillingness

«unwilling» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Unwilling means not wanting to do something, doing it only because you have to: an unwilling helper. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#m1)
2. Unwilling to do something means you refuse or are not ready to do it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#m2)

### In the lessons

In everyday life and stories, an unwilling child goes to bed or tidies up; an unwilling hero is pushed into adventure. In formal maths problems, «unwilling to pay more than 20 dollars» sets a limit. Phrases: unwilling to help, an unwilling volunteer.

### Examples

- The cat was unwilling to go into its basket. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x1)
- He was unwilling to share his toys. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x2)
- She went to the dentist unwillingly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x3)
- Tom was an unwilling volunteer for the magic trick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x4)
- Many people were unwilling to go out in the storm. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x5)
- Mia is unwilling to pay more than 10 pounds for the book. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x6)
- He was unwilling at first, but the maiden insisted. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/#x7)

### Note

«Un-» + «willing». Usually followed by «to + verb»: unwilling to go. Similar: reluctant. Opposite: willing, keen, eager. In maths, «unwilling to pay more than 10» means 10 is the most (the price must be 10 or less).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «unwilling» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unwilling/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«unwilling» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unwilling.html) on Mova free.