Word.ws English Dictionary

will-they-won't-they

will-they-won't-they adjective: of or pertaining to a potential coupling between two people who share romantic chemistry, but whose relationship is threatened by uncertainty, external obstacles or internal strife.

Adjective

will-they-won't-they (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to a potential coupling between two people who share romantic chemistry, but whose relationship is threatened by uncertainty, external obstacles or internal strife.
    • Princess Sonja, the daughter of an Oslo fashion house director, married Crown Prince Harald last summer after a will-they-won't-they romance that had gone on for a decade.1968, The Scandinavian Times: Newsmagazine
    • Duet is a "will-they-won't-they?" sit-com about a young couple best described as in the throes of 'courting'.1987, The Listener
  2. (broadly) Of or pertaining to any situation in which there is an extended period of uncertainty.
    • Among the small producers, the West German companies Continental Gummi and Phoenix Gummi are in the middle of a will-they-won't-they merger dance.1971, Multinational Business
    • Not only physically did Greenpeace alter the situation—but perhaps more important, it gave the issue a cup-tie atmosphere which it may not otherwise have had, and there was the constant will-they-won't- they.1978, New Scientist, page 379

Forms of will-they-won't-they

alternative formwill-they, won't-they
alternative formwill they, won't they
alternative formwill-they/won't-they
alternative formwill they? won't they?

Questions about will-they-won't-they

What does will-they-won't-they mean?
Will-they-won't-they means of or pertaining to a potential coupling between two people who share romantic chemistry, but whose relationship is threatened by uncertainty, external obstacles or internal strife.
What part of speech is will-they-won't-they?
Will-they-won't-they is an adjective.

Words near will-they-won't-they in the dictionary

  1. will-o'-the-wisp
  2. will-o'-wisp
  3. will-o'-wisps
  4. will-power
  5. will-they, won't-they
  6. will-they-won't-they
  7. will-they/won't-they
  8. will-to-power
  9. Will-with-the-wisp
  10. will-worship
  11. Willa

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: will-they-won't-they (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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Cite this entry: “will-they-won't-they.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/will-they-won%27t-they. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.