willy-nilly

[ wil-ee-nil-ee ]

adverb

1. in a disorganized or unplanned manner; sloppily.
2. whether one wishes to or not; willingly or unwillingly:

   He'll have to do it willy-nilly.

adjective

1. shilly-shallying; vacillating.
2. disorganized, unplanned; sloppy:

   willy-nilly work.

willy-nilly

/ ˌwɪlɪˈnɪlɪ /

adverb

1. whether desired or not
2. haphazardly

adjective

1. occurring or taking place whether desired or not
2. occurring haphazardly

Word History and Origins

Origin of willy-nilly¹

1600–10; from the phrase will ye, nill ye. See will ¹, nill

Word History and Origins

Origin of willy-nilly¹

Old English wile hē, nyle hē, literally: will he or will he not; nyle, from ne not + willan to will ¹

Example Sentences

Do Americans connect the cooking of the planet to making babies willy-nilly?

From The Daily Beast

I felt like if it was just Sally going willy-nilly and eating chocolate cake, that would just feel like I had lost my mind.

From The Daily Beast

People need to get used to the idea of having women jump willy-nilly into the presidential pool the way the guys have long done.

From The Daily Beast

You will remember that when you came to our assistance outside Meerut she was determined to take us, willy-nilly, to Delhi.

From Project Gutenberg

So much, at least, we had gained—we were no longer being carried willy-nilly out of our way.

From Project Gutenberg

I had a driver's ticket all right, but it did not permit me to drive a car that I'd selected out of a group willy nilly.

From Project Gutenberg

In other words, he puts it off until he is forced to do it, willy-nilly.

From Project Gutenberg

Mabel made her usual set at Zebedee, who was willy-nilly engrossed by her favour.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• haphazardly