voluntary
done, made, brought about, undertaken, etc., of one's own accord or by free choice: a voluntary contribution.
of, relating to, or acting in accord with the will: voluntary cooperation.
of, relating to, or depending on voluntary action: voluntary hospitals.
Law.
acting or done without compulsion or obligation.
done by intention, and not by accident: voluntary manslaughter.
made without valuable consideration: a voluntary settlement.
Physiology. subject to or controlled by the will.
having the power of willing or choosing: a voluntary agent.
proceeding from a natural impulse; spontaneous: voluntary laughter.
something done voluntarily.
a piece of music, frequently spontaneous and improvised, performed as a prelude to a larger work, especially a piece of organ music performed before, during, or after an office of the church.
Origin of voluntary
1synonym study For voluntary
Other words for voluntary
Other words from voluntary
- vol·un·tar·i·ly [vol-uhn-tair-uh-lee, vol-uhn-ter-], /ˌvɒl ənˈtɛər ə li, ˈvɒl ənˌtɛr-/, adverb
- vol·un·tar·i·ness, noun
- non·vol·un·tar·y, adjective
- sem·i·vol·un·tar·y, adjective
- un·vol·un·tar·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use voluntary in a sentence
In turn, these voluntary agencies, most of which are religiously affiliated, often rely on local congregations to sponsor and initially support refugees.
The history of Hmong Americans explains why they might decide the election | Melissa Borja | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostFacebook doesn’t publish this data, so voluntary sharing of data is the only window into this process.
The weirdly specific filters campaigns are using to micro-target you | Tate Ryan-Mosley | October 23, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewFurthermore, FLoC has yet to pass the minimum bar for incubation within the voluntary consensus web standards organization W3C, said James Rosewell, CEO at tech company 51Degrees.
‘Very pleasantly surprised’ Google shares results of Privacy Sandbox experiments | Lara O'Reilly | October 22, 2020 | DigidayThe return to campus is voluntary for teachers during phase one.
Morning Report: Our Election Guide Is Here | Voice of San Diego | October 19, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoOur default way of thinking is System 1, which “operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control,” he wrote in his classic bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow.
Facts aren’t the most powerful tool in the event of a contested election | Geoffrey Colvin | October 13, 2020 | Fortune
A great deal often depends, and in such a case as this, everything depends, on the Voluntariness of the ornament.
The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) | John RuskinTo have the quality of voluntariness an act must be consciously performed with a particular end in view.
Determinism or Free-Will? | Chapman CohenWhether the form of voluntariness continues or force is resorted to slavery still is slavery.
Landmarks of Scientific Socialism | Friedrich EngelsIf the slave were willing to be a slave, his voluntariness, so far from lessening the guilt of the "owner," aggravates it.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus | American Anti-Slavery SocietyWe argue the voluntariness of servants from their peculiar opportunities and facilities for escape.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus | American Anti-Slavery Society
British Dictionary definitions for voluntary
/ (ˈvɒləntərɪ, -trɪ) /
performed, undertaken, or brought about by free choice, willingly, or without being asked: a voluntary donation
(of persons) serving or acting in a specified function of one's own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration: a voluntary social worker
done by, composed of, or functioning with the aid of volunteers: a voluntary association
endowed with, exercising, or having the faculty of willing: a voluntary agent
arising from natural impulse; spontaneous: voluntary laughter
law
acting or done without legal obligation, compulsion, or persuasion
made without payment or recompense in any form: a voluntary conveyance
(of the muscles of the limbs, neck, etc) having their action controlled by the will
maintained or provided by the voluntary actions or contributions of individuals and not by the state: voluntary schools; the voluntary system
music a composition or improvisation, usually for organ, played at the beginning or end of a church service
work done without compulsion
obsolete a volunteer, esp in an army
Origin of voluntary
1Derived forms of voluntary
- voluntarily, adverb
- voluntariness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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