wont

[ wawnt, wohnt, wuhnt ]
See synonyms for: wontwontedwontingwonts on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. accustomed; used (usually followed by an infinitive): He was wont to rise at dawn.

noun
  1. custom; habit; practice: It was her wont to walk three miles before breakfast.

verb (used with object),wont, wont or wont·ed, wont·ing.
  1. to accustom (a person), as to a thing: That summer wonted me to a lifetime of early rising.

  2. to render (a thing) customary or usual (usually used passively).

verb (used without object),wont, wont or wont·ed, wont·ing.
  1. to be wont.

Origin of wont

1
irst recorded in 1300–50; (adjective) Middle English wont, woned, Old English gewunod, past participle of gewunian “to be used to” (see won2); cognate with German gewöhnt; (verb) Middle English, back formation from wonted or wont (past participle); (noun) apparently from conflation of wont (past participle) with obsolete wone “wish” in certain stereotyped phrases

Other words for wont

Opposites for wont

Other words from wont

  • wontless, adjective

Words that may be confused with wont

Words Nearby wont

Other definitions for won't (2 of 2)

won't
[ wohnt, wuhnt ]

  1. contraction of will not:He won't see you now.

usage note For won't

Words that may be confused with won't

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wont in a sentence

  • In discussing Duns Scotus, I have given less from his writings than has been my wont with other philosophers.

  • Later on, I believe, a child is wont to have his favourite colour, and to be ready to defend it against the preferences of others.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • He had been wont to do this on other occasions, because the enemy with nine ships was within sight of the fort.

  • In cases in which no attempt is made to ignore the accusation, the small wits are wont to be busy discovering exculpations.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • Yet the feeling is in most children weak and vacillating, and is wont to be mixed with other and less noble ones.

    Children's Ways | James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for wont (1 of 2)

wont

/ (wəʊnt) /


adjective
  1. (postpositive) accustomed (to doing something): he was wont to come early

noun
  1. a manner or action habitually employed by or associated with someone (often in the phrases as is my wont, as is his wont, etc)

verb
  1. (when tr, usually passive) to become or cause to become accustomed

Origin of wont

1
Old English gewunod, past participle of wunian to be accustomed to; related to Old High German wunēn (German wohnen), Old Norse una to be satisfied; see wean 1, wish, winsome

British Dictionary definitions for won't (2 of 2)

won't

/ (wəʊnt) /


contraction of
  1. will not

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012