wilfully
/ˈwɪlfəli/adverb
wilfully is spelled W-I-L-F-U-L-L-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “wilfully vs willfully” about 20 times a month (Bing, United States). As an adverb, wilfully means “Deliberately, on purpose” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wilfully?
| Letters | 8: W-I-L-F-U-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,187th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); 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).
How common is wilfully?
Wilfully appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th 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 wilfully?
- UK /ˈwɪlfəli/
Wilfully 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-wilfully.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wilfully
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: willfully.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of wilfully
- more wilfully comparative
- most wilfully superlative
- willfully US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wilfully mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
obsoleteWillingly, of one's own free will.
- 2
Deliberately, on purpose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does wilfully come from?
From Old English wilfullīċe, corresponding to wilful + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).