goodwill
good·will/ˌɡʊdˈwɪl/noun, verb
goodwill is spelled G-O-O-D-W-I-L-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (good·will). It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “good-will vs goodwill” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, goodwill means “A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of goodwill is goodwills.
How many letters and syllables are in goodwill?
| Letters | 8: G-O-O-D-W-I-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: good·will |
| In writing | 4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is goodwill?
Goodwill appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce goodwill?
- US /ˌɡʊdˈwɪl/
- British /ˌɡɵdˈwɪl/
- /ˌɡʊdˈwəl/
Goodwill has 2 syllables, split good·will in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-goodwill.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with goodwill
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: good-will (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with goodwill?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as goodwill from its last stressed vowel (/ɪl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of goodwill
- goodwills plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- goodwilling participle, present
- goodwilled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does goodwill mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.
- 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
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
The willingness of a worker to perform activities not strictly within the scope of the employment contract and not just work to rule.
- 5
CanadaUSA thrift shop.
verb
- 1
To voluntarily provide or cover some or all of the cost of (something) to maintain goodwill.
The company goodwilled the cost of the repairs.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of goodwill (“thrift shop”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Goodwill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bonne volonté, bienveillance , achalandage, cote d'estime , survaleur, écart d'acquisition |
| German | guter Wille , ideeller Unternehmenswert |
| Portuguese | boa vontade |
| Spanish | buena voluntad, bienquerencia, bienquerer |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does goodwill come from?
From Middle English *goodwille, good wille, possibly from Old English *gōdwille (compare gōdwillende (“well-pleased”)). Compare also Scots guidwilly, guidwillie (“displaying goodwill”). By surface analysis, good + will.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).