unwilling
/ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ/adjective
unwilling is spelled U-N-W-I-L-L-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unwilling means “Not willing; reluctant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unwilling?
| Letters | 9: U-N-W-I-L-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unwilling?
Unwilling appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th 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 unwilling?
- /ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ/
Unwilling has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-unwilling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unwilling
- more unwilling comparative
- most unwilling superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unwilling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not willing; reluctant
an unwilling servant
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unwilling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not willing; reluctant:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réticent |
| German | unwillig |
| Portuguese | indisposto |
| Spanish | no dispuesto, poco voluntarioso, nada listoco, poco gustoso, imprestable |
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 unwilling come from?
From un- + willing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).