Word.ws English Dictionary

good-will

good-will is the dated form of goodwill.

Meaning of goodwill

Noun

goodwill (usually uncountable, plural goodwills)

  1. (usually) A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.
    Synonyms:
    benevolence
  2. (usually) The value of a business entity not directly attributable to its tangible assets and liabilities, deriving from factors such as consumer loyalty to the brand.
  3. (usually) The ability of an individual or business to exert influence within a community, club, market or another type of group, without having to resort to the use of an asset (such as money or property), either directly or by the creation of a lien.
  4. (usually, trade unionism) The willingness of a worker to perform activities not strictly within the scope of the employment contract and not just work to rule.
    • As Denning MR said in Secretary of State for Employment v ASLEF (No. 2) (1972): 'a man is not bound to do more for his employer than his contract requires. He can withdraw his goodwill if he pleases.'2007 [1972], John Duddington, quoting Tom Denning, Baron Denning, Employment Law, Pearson Education, →ISBN, page 101
  5. (Canada, US, capitalized, countable, uncommon, usually) A thrift shop.
    • Buy from goodwills, garage sales, friends, and neighbors. Choose beautiful, functional, durable items made by craftspeople.1990, Karen Christensen, Home Ecology: Simple and Practical Ways to Green Your Home, Fulcrum Publishing, page 65

See all 11 meanings of goodwill

Questions about good-will

What is good-will the dated form of?
Good-will is the dated form of goodwill.

Words near good-will in the dictionary

  1. good-time Charlies
  2. good-time girl
  3. good-time girls
  4. good-timer
  5. good-timers
  6. good-will
  7. Goodacre
  8. Goodacres
  9. Goodale
  10. Goodales
  11. Goodall

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: good-will (page history and authors); goodwill (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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