as in intentionally
with full awareness of what one is doing
willfully chose to risk pneumonia by jumping into a freezing lake on a dare
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Recent Examples of willfully
In 1872, nearly 50 years before women gained the right to vote, Anthony was arrested for wrongfully and willfully voting.
—
Arkansas Online, 21 Dec. 2025
Last month, after a preliminary hearing, another Vista Superior Court judge — Saba Sheibani — agreed to reduce the felony charge against him, and also dismissed a misdemeanor count against him for allegedly willfully failing to perform a duty in his role as a city official.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025
Then the price suddenly spiked, the business fell apart, and his primary investor now feels that Lionel was willfully reckless with the money.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
In a deal with federal prosecutors entered Tuesday, former Florissant Officer Julian Alcala pleaded guilty to 20 counts of willfully depriving someone of their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
In a separate decision, a federal magistrate cited a pattern of investigative missteps—including potential Fourth Amendment violations, in the grand jury process and said the FBI and prosecutors may have acted recklessly or willfully in ways that undermined the integrity of the proceedings.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
Despite shortsighted, willfully ignorant efforts to the contrary, this story can’t be told in any meaningful way without the complete information.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025
Yet, despite how clearly the meme’s lineage can be traced, adults — present company excluded — seem willfully baffled.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
The president was charged in 2023 with willfully retaining national defense information.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willfully
Adverb
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The Justice Department countered at an October 2025 hearing that detainees were never intentionally barred from contact with attorneys, but that circumstances during unrest on the streets over ICE immigration operations caused conditions at B-18 that were far from normal.—
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In a recent interview with ABC affiliate WXLV, Marissa's sister, Emma Villegas, maintained that her sibling did not intentionally disappear.—
Adverb
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The Arabs deliberately placed the Arab refugees and their descendants in refugee camps as pawns in the propaganda war against Israel.—
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Echols said lawmakers deliberately chose broad language to avoid closing the door on people whose cases might not fit narrow statutory definitions.—
Cite this Entry
“Willfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willfully. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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