good will
11
1.9
- noun
- /ɡʊd wɪl/
:
buena voluntad
- It's difficult sometimes, but good will is not a luxury; it's an absolute necessity.
- people of good will
- peace and good will
- good will toward men
Examples
-
It's also true that I shall need the assistance of all persons of good will.
Fiction book (1992) -
It's been lauded by many men of good will, including Elie Wiesel and Jimmy Carter.
Blog text (20) -
To him, we were in a land of hope and good will.
-
Gentlemen, I think it's time for men of good will to take leave of one another.
-
And this is the choice before all people of faith and good will in these dangerous times.
Academic text (2008) -
Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men.
Academic text (2004) -
We became like the ambassadors of good will.
-
See, the Colonel, he believed in our core values, which is that good will always triumph over vanity and corruption.
-
What remains is the virtually unequivocal triumph of peace, love, good will, and hope for the future.
Academic text (1991) -
During the holiday season, many people express their good will by helping those in need.
Synonyms
297
1.0
Friendly and generous actions that help or comfort other people
236
3.9
Kindness and forgiveness shown to someone who has not earned it
128
2.1
Being kind and ready to give money, time, or help to others
95
2.8
Friendly feelings and kind acts toward other people
76
1.4
Being kind and forgiving toward other people
16
1.0
A kind and pleasant way of treating other people
16
6.1
Kind feelings and actions that help other people
6
4.1
Being kind, polite, and generous to other people
3
2.3
Willingness to support other people
2
8.4
Kind acts that help other people
2
2.5
A friendly, helpful attitude that makes a person help others
2
3.4
Caring about other people and putting their needs before your own
1
5.2
A warm, gentle feeling of care and concern for other people
1
2.2
Being caring and helpful to people who need support
1
3.2
Being friendly, generous, and caring to other people
1
3.4
Kind words and actions that show someone wants another person to be happy or successful
A friendly, helpful way of behaving toward other people
A kind and friendly feeling toward other people
Being kind, generous, and willing to share feelings honestly
A caring and generous attitude toward other people
A kind, friendly attitude that wants to help others
Being cheerful and friendly so people find it easy to get along
Friendly, kind, and supportive feeling between people like close family members
A willingness to give help or money to people in need
Willingness to give money, time, or help to other people without asking for anything
Kind and generous behavior that helps other people
Antonyms
How Friendly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a friendly, helpful, or supportive attitude' is directly derivable from combining 'good' (positive/beneficial) with 'will' (intention or willingness), yielding the straightforward sense of benevolent intent. This adjective+noun composition is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish buena voluntad, French bonne volonté) and is therefore immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents; the orthographic variant 'goodwill' does not affect its compositional transparency.
Etymology
Good will comes from the image of a person's good choice or will, meaning a kind wish to help others. So good will means a friendly, helpful attitude or 'good intentions'.