English

Alternative forms

• willy nilly

Adverb

willy-nilly ‎(comparative more willy-nilly, superlative most willy-nilly)

1. Whether desired or not.
   • 1954, Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, Chatto & Windus, page 36:

     The outer world is what we wake up to every morning of our lives, is the place where, willy-nilly, we must try to make our living.

   • 1894, Thomas Hardy, Hearts Insurgent, in Harper's Magazine, Volume XC, Number 536, page 195:

     He says he shall come for me willy-nilly, and father and mother say I must have him!

2. Without regard for consequences or the will of those affected.

   So people chasing money churn out novels willy-nilly.

3. Seemingly at random, haphazardly

   The novel Alice in Wonderland describes a place where random things happen all willy-nilly.

Translations

Synonyms

• nolens volens

References

1. ↑ Willy-nilly, World Wide Words, by Michael Quinion

• For usage examples of this term, see Citations:willy-nilly.