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At will   /æt wɪl/   Listen
noun
Will  n.  
1.
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."
2.
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."
3.
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."
4.
Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose. Note: "Inclination is another word with which will is frequently confounded. Thus, when the apothecary says, in Romeo and Juliet, "My poverty, but not my will, consents;... Put this in any liquid thing you will, And drink it off." the word will is plainly used as, synonymous with inclination; not in the strict logical sense, as the immediate antecedent of action. It is with the same latitude that the word is used in common conversation, when we speak of doing a thing which duty prescribes, against one's own will; or when we speak of doing a thing willingly or unwillingly."
5.
That which is strongly wished or desired. "What's your will, good friar?" "The mariner hath his will."
6.
Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine. "Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies."
7.
(Law) 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. Note: Wills are written or nuncupative, that is, oral. See Nuncupative will, under Nuncupative.
At will (Law), at pleasure. To hold an estate at the will of another, is to enjoy the possession at his pleasure, and be liable to be ousted at any time by the lessor or proprietor. An estate at will is at the will of both parties.
Good will. See under Good.
Ill will, enmity; unfriendliness; malevolence.
To have one's will, to obtain what is desired; to do what one pleases.
Will worship, worship according to the dictates of the will or fancy; formal worship. (Obs.)
Will worshiper, one who offers will worship. (Obs.)
With a will, with willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly; heartily.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"At will" Quotes from Famous Books



... if it be true That light is in the soul, She all in every part, why was the sight To such a tender ball as the eye confined, So obvious and so easy to be quenched, And not, as feeling, through all parts diffused, That she might look at will through every pore? Then had I not been thus exiled from light, As in the land of darkness, yet in light, To live a life half dead, a living death, And buried; but, O yet more miserable! Myself my sepulchre, a moving grave; Buried, yet not ...
— Milton • John Bailey
... stopped, and it was not a very pleasant feeling, to be aware that beneath them, and all around, these monstrous beasts were walking about at the bottom of the muddy river, ready to rise up at will, and upset the canoes, or perhaps take a piece out ...
— Off to the Wilds - Being the Adventures of Two Brothers • George Manville Fenn
... unencumbered with vegetation; even ivy has never cast its mantle over the towers, square or round. The town has three gates, where may be seen the rings of the portcullises; it is entered by a drawbridge of iron-clamped wood, no longer raised but which could be raised at will. The mayoralty was blamed for having, in 1820, planted poplars along the banks of the moat to shade the promenade. It excused itself on the ground that the long and beautiful esplanade of the fortifications facing the dunes had been converted one hundred years earlier into a ...
— Beatrix • Honore de Balzac
... and established universal suffrage for its men. He would not have dreamed that every inch of the great continent of South America, then chiefly an unexplored region over which bands of savages roved at will, would be covered by written constitutions guaranteeing self-government to men inspired by Declarations of Independence similar to that of this country; that the settlements in Mexico and Central America ...
— The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V • Ida Husted Harper
... to give possession of the same to the landlord or to his agent; such entry to be made not less than twenty, and not more than thirty days from the date of the warrant. The provisions of this bill, however, are confined to premises held at will, or for less than a term of seven years, and which are let for less than L20 per annum, without ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. - From George III. to Victoria • E. Farr and E. H. Nolan


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