adverb · rare

willy-nilly

willy-nilly · more willy-nilly · most willy-nilly

волей-неволей, хочешь не хочешь, тяп-ляп

wohl oder übel, ob man will oder nicht, nolens volens, einfach so

Whether desired or notWhether desired or not; without regard for consequences or wishes of those affected; whether willingly or unwillingly.

UK/ˌwɪl.iːˈnɪl.iː/US/ˌwɪl.iˈnɪl.i/

Meaning

2 senses

Whether desired or not; without regard for consequences or wishes of those affected; whether willingly or unwillingly.
wohl oder übel, ob man will oder nicht, nolens volens
во́лей-нево́лейvólej-nevólej, хо́чешь не хо́чешьxóčešʹ ne xóčešʹ
(idiomatic)Seemingly at random; haphazardly.
The novel Alice in Wonderland describes a place where things happen willy-nilly.
Some writers chasing money churn out novels willy-nilly.
einfach so, scheinbar zufällig, wahllos
тя́п-ля́пtjáp-ljáp
in a random manner

Translations

8 languages

Русский

By meaning 2

whether desired or not; without regard for consequences or wishes of those affected:

seemingly at random — see also haphazardly:

Deutsch

By meaning 2

whether desired or not; without regard for consequences or wishes of those affected:

seemingly at random — see also haphazardly:

Origin

Literally, “Be one willing to, be one unwilling to”. From will I, nill I (“whether I want

Literally, “Be one willing to, be one unwilling to”. From will I, nill I (“whether I want to or not”, with both verbs in the subjunctive), reflecting the old (viz. pre-Great Vowel Shift) pronunciation of I as ee, not yet as eye. Conflated with will he, nill he (with silent h) and will ye, nill ye (with yod dropping), meaning likewise “be he/you willing or not”.

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