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Webster 1913 Edition

Voluntary

Vol′un-ta-ry

,
Adj.
[L.
voluntarius
, fr.
voluntas
will, choice, from the root of
velle
to will, p. pr.
volens
; akin to E.
will
: cf. F.
volontaire
, Of. also
voluntaire
. See
Will
,
Verb.
T.
, and cf.
Benevolent
,
Volition
,
Volunteer
.]
1.
Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice.
That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to
voluntary
action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
N. W. Taylor.
2.
Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one’s self, or of itself; free.
Our
voluntary
service he requires.
Milton.
She fell to lust a
voluntary
prey.
Pope.
3.
Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed; intended; not accidental;
as, if a man kills another by lopping a tree, it is not
voluntary
manslaughter
.
4.
(Physiol.)
Of or pertaining to the will; subject to, or regulated by, the will;
as, the
voluntary
motions of an animal, such as the movements of the leg or arm (in distinction from
involuntary
motions, such as the movements of the heart); the
voluntary
muscle fibers, which are the agents in voluntary motion
.
5.
Endowed with the power of willing;
as, man is a
voluntary
agent
.
God did not work as a necessary, but a
voluntary
, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.
Hooker.
6.
(Law)
Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
7.
(Eccl.)
Of or pertaining to voluntaryism;
as, a
voluntary
church, in distinction from an established or state church
.
Voluntary affidavit
or
Voluntary oath
(Law)
,
an affidavit or oath made in an extrajudicial matter.
–
Voluntary conveyance
(Law)
,
a conveyance without valuable consideration.
–
Voluntary escape
(Law)
,
the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff.
–
Voluntary jurisdiction
.
(Eng. Eccl. Law)
See
Contentious jurisdiction
, under
Contentious
.
–
Voluntary waste
.
(Law)
See
Waste
,
Noun.
, 4.
Syn. – See
Spontaneous
.

Vol′un-ta-ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Voluntaries
.
1.
One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer.
[R.]
Shak.
2.
(Mus.)
A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
3.
(Eccl.)
One who advocates voluntaryism.

Webster 1828 Edition

Voluntary

VOL'UNTARY

,
Adj.
[L. voluntarius, from voluntas, will, from volo.]
1.
Acting by choice or spontaneously; acting without being influenced or impelled by another.
2.
Free, or having power to act by choice; not being under restraint; as, man is a voluntary agent.
3.
Proceeding from choice or free will.
That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action, is the true principle of orthodoxy.
4.
Willing; acting with willingness.
She fell to lust a voluntary prey.
5.
Done by design; purposed; intended. If a man kills another by lopping a tree, here is no voluntary murder.
6.
Done freely, or of choice; proceeding from free will. He went into voluntary exile. He made a voluntary surrender.
7.
Acting of his own accord; spontaneous; as the voluntary dictates of knowledge.
8.
Subject to the will; as the voluntary motions of an animal. Thus the motion of a leg or an arm is voluntary, but the motion of the heart is involuntary.
A voluntary escape, in law, is the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff.
Voluntary jurisdiction, is that which is exercised in doing that which no one opposes; as in granting dispensations, &c.
Voluntary affidavit or oath, is one made in an extra-judicial matter.
Voluntary waste, is that which is committed by positive acts.

VOL'UNTARY

, n.
1.
One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. [In this sense, volunteer is now generally used.]
2.
In music, a piece played by a musician extemporarily, according to his fancy. In the Philosophical Transactions, we have a method of writing voluntaries, as fast as the musician plays the notes. This is by a cylinder turning under the keys of the organ.
3.
A composition for the organ.

Definition 2024

voluntary

voluntary

English

Adjective

voluntary ‎(comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

  1. Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
    • N. W. Taylor
      That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
    • Alexander Pope
      She 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.
    • Hooker
      God 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 voluntarism.
    a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

voluntary ‎(comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

  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

voluntary ‎(plural voluntaries)

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

Etymology

From Middle English *voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius ‎(“willing, of free will”), from voluntās ‎(“will, choice, desire”), from volēns, present participle of velle ‎(“to will”).

Pronunciation

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