Might vs. Will — What's the Difference?

Utilized to express permission.

Used to express a future intention or prediction.

Used to indicate a possibility or probability.

Conveys determination or insistence.

Employed to indicate a suggestion or mild request.

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action

Can denote a condition, often in hypothetical situations.

Diligent purposefulness; determination

Used to express a wish or hope.

Self-control; self-discipline

Past of may

A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority

Used tentatively to ask permission or to express a polite request

Deliberate intention or wish

Used to express possibility or make a suggestion

Free discretion; inclination or pleasure

Great and impressive power or strength, especially of a nation, large organization, or natural force

Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition

Great power or force, as of a nation or army.

A legal declaration of how a person wishes their personal possessions to be disposed of after death.

Physical strength

A legally executed document containing this declaration.

Power, strength, force or influence held by a person or group.

To decide on or intend

(uncountable) Physical strength or force.

To yearn for; desire

(uncountable) The ability to do something.

To decree, dictate, or order

(obsolete) Mighty; powerful.

To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will

(obsolete) Possible.

To grant in a legal will; bequeath

(auxiliary) Used to indicate conditional or possible actions.

To order to direct in a legal will

(auxiliary) may Used to indicate permission in past tense.

To exercise the will.

(auxiliary) may Used to indicate possibility in past tense.

To make a choice; choose

Used to indicate a desired past action that was not done.

To wish; desire

(auxiliary) Even though.

(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.

(auxiliary) Used in polite requests for permission

(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.

Used to express certainty.

(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".

Force or power of any kind, whether of body or mind; energy or intensity of purpose, feeling, or action; means or resources to effect an object; strength; force; power; ability; capacity.

(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).

Physical strength

(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation.

To wish, desire (something).

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

(archaic) Implying will go.

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).

(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.

Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent

(law) A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.

(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.

(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.

The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.

The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.

Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.

That which is strongly wished or desired.

Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine.

The legal declaration of a person's mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise. See the Note under Testament, 1.

To wish; to desire; to incline to have.

As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.

To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.

The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention;

A fixed and persistent intent or purpose;

A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

Decree or ordain;

Have in mind;

Determine by choice;

Leave or give by will after one's death;

Indicates a willingness to perform an action.

Expresses a command or instruction.

Used to form the future tense of verbs.

"We might go to the beach if the weather is good."

No, Might is used to convey lower probability and possibility.

Will expresses future certainty, intention, or determination.

Might indicates a possibility or probability, reflecting uncertainty.

"She will start her new job next Monday."

Will seeks confirmation or more information about future actions or events in interrogative forms.

Yes, Might can convey a softer or more tentative tone.

Yes, Will implies a higher level of certainty and determination.

In interrogative forms, Might poses questions about the likelihood or possibility.

Yes, Might is often used to make polite requests or suggestions.

Yes, Might can be used to express hypothetical situations or unfulfilled conditions.

Yes, Will can have a more assertive and commanding tone.

While Might expresses conditional and potential outcomes, Will denotes more definitive and decided outcomes.

Yes, Will often depicts a predetermined path or a decided course of action.

Absolutely, Will can be used to express firmness and clear expectations in requests or instructions.