unwilled
- adjective
- /ʌnˈwɪld/
:
involuntario
- For Proust, the unwilled and thus wholly unexpected memory of an event is superior to the event itself, for memory, transfigured by imagination, can transcend time in these involuntary returns to the past.
Examples
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From this institution's willed and unwilled mating sprang a population, part of which is termed "Afrikaner" and the other part (often with ambiguity and reticence), "Coloured."
Academic text (2001) -
Because passions, because which are unwilled seem to be more important than the things that we will.
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In Mrs. Alving's case, truth reveals itself as a sort of unwilled speech coming from the body or from the unconscious.
Academic text (1996) -
In the second unwilled return to that period, anticipatory images have begun to form, but their vagueness is part of their appeal.
Academic text (2001) -
He is the one who said that "every great philosophy so far" has been "the self-confession of its author and a kind of unwilled and unnoticed memoir" (Nietzsche, 1980, V, p. 29; ET, p. 13).
Academic text (1998) -
His reaction to the surprise party was wholly unwilled, as he had not intended to express such joy.
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The unwilled laughter from the audience indicated their genuine amusement at the comedian's unexpected joke.
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She felt an unwilled sense of relief wash over her when she heard the good news, despite her worries.
Synonyms
Occurs without a person's control and not on purpose, like a sudden laugh
Antonyms
How Intentional
Surface Forms
Morphology
unwilled = willed (transparent) = un + will + ed
The adjective is formed by negating 'willed' with the productive prefix 'un-', yielding a clear 'not willed' meaning.
Etymology
Unwilled is made from un- meaning 'not' and will meaning 'desire' or 'choice', the same 'will' you see in willing. So unwilled describes something not done on purpose or by someone's intention.