goodwill

/ɡʊdˈwɪl/

//ɡʊdˈwɪl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"goodwill" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goodwill” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,708. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,708
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goodwill · goodwill · English

goodwill · rank #11,708 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #11,708
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gladly

Nearest frequency peer: gladly (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “goodwill”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “goodwill” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

goodwill vs Goodwin
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for goodwill
PropertyValue
Headwordgoodwill
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡʊdˈwɪl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#11,708
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “goodwill”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).goodwilllands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “gladly” (#11,707), “govern” (#11,709), “gradual” (#11,710). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goodwill” is #11,708. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around goodwill (IPA /ɡʊdˈwɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,708 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for goodwill, with forms such as "ggoodwill", "godowill", and "godwill". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Goodwin", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *goodwille, good wille (“goodwill”), perhaps from Old English *gōdwille (“goodwill”); compare Old English gōdwillende (“well-pleased”); also Scots guidwilly, guidwillie (“displaying goodwill”), equivalent to good + will. Cognate with Sco… The correct English form is goodwill, spelled G-O-O-D-W-I-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.
  2. 2
    The value of a business entity not directly attributable to its tangible assets and liabilities, deriving from factors such as consumer loyalty to the brand.
  3. 3
    The ability of an individual or business to exert influence within a community, club, market or another type of group, without having to resort to the use of an asset (such as money or property), either directly or by the creation of a lien.
  4. 4
    The willingness of a worker to perform activities not strictly within the scope of the employment contract and not just work to rule.
  5. 5
    A thrift shop.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how goodwill appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As Denning MR said in Secretary of State for Employment v ASLEF (No. 2) (1972): 'a man is not bound to do more for his employer than his contract requires. He can withdraw his goodwill if he pleases.'
  2. The downside of this cost-saving strategy was that the train service could only be covered by goodwill. Whenever there was a spat between ASLEF and management - regardless of cause - the withdrawal of this goodwill became a stick with which unions could beat management.

Etymology

From Middle English *goodwille, good wille (“goodwill”), perhaps from Old English *gōdwille (“goodwill”); compare Old English gōdwillende (“well-pleased”); also Scots guidwilly, guidwillie (“displaying goodwill”), equivalent to good + will. Cognate with Scots guidwill (“goodwill”), Middle Low German gūtwille (“goodwill”), Old High German guotwilligi (“goodwill”), Old Danish godvilje (“goodwill”), Icelandic góðvilji, góðvili (“goodwill”), Icelandic góðvild (“goodness”). The sense "thrift shop" is a genericized trademark of a US chain of such shops.

Antonyms

ill will

This word in other languages

bonne volonté(Français)guter Wille(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoodwill
  • godowill
  • godwill
  • gooddwill
  • goodiwll
  • goodwil
  • goodwlil
  • goodwwill
  • goowdill
  • ogodwill

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of goodwill - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ggoodwill1godowill2godwill1gooddwill1goodiwll2goodwil1goodwlil2goodwwill1
Edit distance from "goodwill"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "goodwill"?
"goodwill" is spelled G-O-O-D-W-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡʊdˈwɪl/.
What does "goodwill" mean?
As a noun, "goodwill" means: A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.
What words are commonly confused with "goodwill"?
"goodwill" is commonly confused with "Goodwin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "goodwill"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goodwill" is /ɡʊdˈwɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "goodwill"?
From Middle English *goodwille, good wille (“goodwill”), perhaps from Old English *gōdwille (“goodwill”); compare Old English gōdwillende (“well-pleased”); also Scots guidwilly, guidwillie (“displaying goodwill”), equivalent to good + will. Cognat... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "goodwill", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

garrison#11,704enduring#11,692imminent#11,724locality#11,737

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

gladly10 variantsgradual10 variantsfixture10 variantsillnesses10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list