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wont

WAHNT/wɑnt/UKWOHNT/wəʊnt/

Verbwonts, wonting, wonted

4 meanings of wont

Practice

  1. 1
    in the habitadjective
    Accustomed to a thing, or in the habit of doing something or inclined to do it.

    The senator, as she is wont to do, answered the question with a question.

    Teenagers are wont to sleep late on weekends.

    UsageUsually after be and before to + verb: she is wont to answer with a question. Before a noun the form is wonted.

    Similaraccustomed, inclined, apt, prone, given

    Oppositeunaccustomed, disinclined

    Note

    It stands after be and before to plus a verb: he is wont to complain, and in Shakespeare's Richard the Third a speaker misses the cheer of mind "that I was wont to have". Before a noun the form is wonted, meaning usual, as in Thomas Gray's Elegy and its "wonted Fires".

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • In Shakespeare's Richard III, King Richard says that he lacks his former cheer of mind, using the quoted wording. gutenberg.org
    • Wonted means usual and can precede a noun. en.wiktionary.org
    • Thomas Gray's Elegy contains the exact phrase "wonted Fires". gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    nounliteraryhumorousuncountable
    A person's habitual way of doing things; their usual custom or practice.

    The professor wandered off topic, as was his wont, and the lecture ran long.

    It was not her wont to complain, so we knew something was wrong.

    UsageMostly in one phrase: as is his wont or as was her wont, often with a light, mock-serious tone.

    Similarhabit, routine

    Note

    Older writers had other turns: John Milton's Of Education (1644) speaks of "the Roman wont", and in Richard F. Burton's Thousand Nights and a Night Sindbad the Landsman sleeps "as of wont", meaning as usual.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  3. 3
    verbarchaicintransitive
    To have a settled habit of doing something, or to be accustomed to it.
    Note

    In Edmund Spenser's English the verb could stand on its own before to: The Faerie Queene (1590) finds by record of antique times that women "wont in warres to beare most sway", that is, were accustomed to. Present-day English keeps only the adjective in be wont to, so the bare verb now reads as old poetry.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene; its first three books, including the quoted passage in Book III, were first published in 1590. gla.ac.uk
    • The poem's narrator finds evidence in ancient records that women formerly held sway in war; the quoted wording is accurate. staff.washington.edu
    • The intransitive verb wont meant to be accustomed or habitually do something, supporting the interpretation of Spenser's construction. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    make used toverbarchaictransitive
    To make someone accustomed to something.
    Note

    It works as the causative partner of the verb of habit, with to before whatever is grown used to. Joseph Plumb Martin's narrative of 1830 passes on old farmers' advice that keeping beasts without food for a few days goes far toward wonting them to a new situation.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Transitive wont means to accustom someone, functioning as the causative counterpart of the intransitive verb. en.wiktionary.org
    • Joseph Plumb Martin authored the narrative. timeline.amrevmuseum.org
    • The narrative's first-edition title page is dated 1830. en.wikisource.org
    • Martin reports old farmers' advice that withholding food from newly transferred beasts for two or three days helps accustom them to their new situation; the passage uses wonting with to. en.wikisource.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of wont apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meaning 2

Old English gewunod was the past participle of ġewunian, a verb meaning to dwell or to be accustomed to. The noun may have arisen from a blending of wone ("custom, habit, practice") with the adjective wont. Low German Gewohnte ("custom, habit"), Dutch gewoonte and Swedish van are comparable, and the word is likely connected with wone, wean, wonder and win.

Meaning 1

The adjective comes from ġewunod, the past participle of the Old English verb ġewunian. That participle developed into Middle English wont, also spelled iwoned. Dutch has gewend and German has gewohnt, both related.

Meanings 3–4

From Middle English wonten ("to accustom"), formed from the adjective wont.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts