Voluntary

/ˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/ · adjective

Meaning

Done, given, or acting of one's own free will..

Definitions by Sense

1. Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
2. Done by design or intention; intentional.
3. Working or done without payment.
4. Endowed with the power of willing.
5. Of or relating to voluntarism.
6. (obsolete) Voluntarily.
7. (music) A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
8. A volunteer.

Example Sentences

September 10, 1828, Nathaniel William Taylor, Sermon delivered in the Chapel of Yale College That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.

She fell, to lust a voluntary prey.

If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.

Wikimedia is a voluntary service.

[…] God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary agent, intending before-hand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.

a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church

And all that els was pretious and deare, / The sea unto him voluntary brings [...].

Synonyms for voluntary

Antonyms for voluntary

Related Words

Word Forms

• more voluntary
• most voluntary
• voluntaries

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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