How to Use free will in a Sentence

free will

noun
Definition of free willnext
Synonyms for free willnext
  • He argues that all humans have free will.
  • The real question may be this: what will this unholy trinity do with all that free will?
    — Joanna Robinson, HWD, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Not much opportunity for the expression of free will here.
    — Peter Keough, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
  • This of course brings up a number of questions about free will and destiny that the writers will surely expand on in the coming episodes.
    — Rachel Kaufman, Smithsonian, 9 Apr. 2018
  • Who wants to accept—even on behalf of his fictional character—that his free will is an illusion?
    — Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 7 May 2018
  • The breakfast is free, but free will offerings are appreciated.
    — Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2018
  • The new season gives them an upgrade — free will — which provides their stories actual stakes and elevates them from mere victims.
    — James Poniewozik, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2018
  • Destiny does not face off against free will, while franchise flagships like democracy-vs.-dictatorship and the tragedies of war merit muted mentions at best.
    — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, 24 May 2018
  • If employees can still be contacted off the clock, and still reply of their own free will, then what does that mean for the employees who do take issue with it and don’t engage post-work?
    — NBC News, 23 Apr. 2018
  • As opportunity, possibility, and free will are truly shared by all, the world takes quantum leaps forward.
    — Mark Sappenfield, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr. 2018
  • Alex’s free will has never been violated, and his experience must not in any way be associated with abduction.
    — Sam Roberts, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2018
  • The South Korean government maintains that the 12 young women defected of their own free will.
    — Paula Hancocks, Jungeun Kim and Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 21 May 2018
  • But motive isn’t always about free will; sometimes the Nina Gills of the world drive the action, supersede the motivation, in art as in life.
    — Elif Batuman, The New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2018
  • The nature of grace, the nature of free will, and the nature(s) of Jesus Christ have all been codified through vigorous, sometimes violent, debate.
    — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, 5 Apr. 2018
  • These contemporary concerns echo those of theologians in the Middle Ages, who were troubled by God’s knowledge of the future, which seemed to limit our free will.
    — Rabbi David Wolpe, Time, 20 Apr. 2018
  • At Brown in 1773, the topic was free will and the debate was in Latin.
    — Jason Farago, New York Times, 23 May 2024
  • In the tug of war between fate and free will, here the victor is the former.
    — Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2019
  • This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift.
    — Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2023
  • Nick Shadow, the devil, is chained to hell, to show his lack of free will.
    — Mark Swed, latimes.com, 7 June 2019
  • This young man may have chosen to do evil, of his own free will, over and over.
    — WSJ, 25 May 2022
  • No free will of the country to decide its own fate — only the IOC could have pulled the plug.
    — Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2021
  • Is there such a thing as free will, or has this been planned out like a cosmic recipe?
    — Anchorage Daily News, 5 July 2022
  • Ford taking free will back from the hosts and taking over Bernard's mind.
    — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 4 June 2018
  • But Bernard gets a little bit of his free will back (maybe) and deletes Ford's code from his head.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 June 2018
  • Once Kang died, Strange got some of his free will back along with the entire timeline.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 18 Apr. 2022
  • Not to be outdone, the Caddy bounces up and down of its own free will and lurches from side to side.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Are we supposed to think that cancer cells have free will?
    — John Horgan, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2021
  • Jesus had free will and made the decision to be obedient to the will of God.
    — baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 23 Apr. 2021
  • But fate came in, and as 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza stated, there’s no free will.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Lola’s run is repeated three times, with a different outcome in each, leaving viewers to ponder such weighty concepts of free will versus fate, and the tiny moments and chance decisions that can change the course of a life or death.
    — Peter Larsen, Orange County Register, 5 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free will.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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