Voluntary

Pronunciation

Origin

From Middle English *voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntarius ("willing, of free will"), from voluntas ("will, choice, desire"), from volens, present participle of velle ("to will").

Full definition of voluntary

Adjective

1. Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
• N. W. TaylorThat sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
• Alexander PopeShe fell to lust a voluntary prey.
2. Done by design or intention; intentional.If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
3. Working or done without payment.
4. Endowed with the power of willing.
• HookerGod did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.
5. Of or relating to voluntaryism.a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church

Synonyms

• discretionary
• optional
• willful
• volitional

Antonyms

• compulsory
• involuntary
• obligatory

Derived terms

• voluntarily

Related terms

• volition
• voluntarism
• voluntarist
• volunteer
• will

Adverb

1. (obsolete) Voluntarily.
• 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:And all that els was pretious and deare,
  The sea unto him voluntary brings ....

Noun

1. (music) A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument
2. A volunteer