Definition of wilfully in English:
wilfully
(US willfully)
adverb ˈwɪlf(ə)liˈwɪlfəli
1With the intention of causing harm; deliberately.
she denies four charges of wilfully neglecting a patient
he admitted wilfully ill-treating animals
Example sentencesExamples
- At the end of Henry IV, in a re-enactment of Hamlet's murder of Polonius, Henry wilfully thrusts his sword into Belcredi.
- The Act also covers persons who knowingly or wilfully (within the timeframe specified for their retention) destroy, deface or conceal from the Revenue any documents.
- The government had in fact wilfully stood in the way of families reuniting, and had aggressively prevented parents reuniting with their children.
- As long as he does nothing wilfully provocative, he has considerable freedom to redefine his personal position on matters of faith and conscience.
- You don't accept the possibility that a government may one day wilfully misuse this information.
2With a stubborn and determined intention to do as one wants, regardless of the consequences.
he had wilfully ignored the evidence
the business seems willfully headed toward extinction
Example sentencesExamples
- His astonishing debut feature is one of the most wilfully obscure pieces of genre-busting cinema in a very long time.
- The Miami Herald columnist has produced a series of hysterical and wilfully absurd novels.
- He was a crucial figure in bringing new repertoire to a theatre which had almost wilfully avoided truly significant premieres in the previous four decades of its existence.
- Its lyrics are repetitious, its sound wilfully dated, its messages straightforward.
- She's the 19-year-old author of a wilfully eccentric, impossible to categorise debut album.