Adjacent Words

Involuntary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INVOL'UNTARY, a. [L. in and voluntarius. See Voluntary.]
1. Not having will or choice; unwilling.
2. Independent of will or choice. The motion of the heart and arteries is involuntary, but not against the will.
3. Not proceeding from choice; not done willingly; opposed to the will. A slave and a conquered nation yield an involuntary submission to a master.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not subject to the control of the will; "involuntary manslaughter"; "involuntary servitude"; "an involuntary shudder"; "It (becoming a hero) was involuntary. They sank my boat"- John F.Kennedy [syn: involuntary, nonvoluntary, unvoluntary] [ant: voluntary]
2: controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control; "involuntary muscles"; "gave an involuntary start" [ant: voluntary]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English involuntari, from Late Latin involuntarius, from Latin in- + voluntarius voluntary Date: 15th century 1. done contrary to or without choice 2. compulsory 3. not subject to control of the will ; reflex • involuntarily adverb • involuntariness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 done without the exercise of the will; unintentional. 2 (of a limb, muscle, or movement) not under the control of the will. Derivatives: involuntarily adv. involuntariness n. Etymology: LL involuntarius (as IN-(1), VOLUNTARY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Involuntary In*vol"un*ta*ry, a. [L. involuntarius. See In- not, and Voluntary.] 1. Not having will or the power of choice. 2. Not under the influence or control of the will; not voluntary; as, the involuntary movements of the body; involuntary muscle fibers. 3. Not proceeding from choice; done unwillingly; reluctant; compulsory; as, involuntary submission.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you make an involuntary movement or exclamation, you make it suddenly and without intending to because you are unable to control yourself. Another surge of pain in my ankle caused me to give an involuntary shudder. ADJ • involuntarily His left eyelid twitched involuntarily. ADV: ADV with v 2. You use involuntary to describe an action or situation which is forced on someone. ...insurance policies that cover involuntary unemployment... = forced ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Instinctive, automatic, blind, independent of volition. 2. Unwilling, reluctant, compulsory, against one's will.

Moby Thesaurus

at odds, automatic, averse, binding, blind, casual, compulsive, compulsory, conditioned, cursory, dictated, differing, disagreeing, disinclined, disobedient, forced, fractious, gut, ill-advised, ill-considered, ill-devised, imperative, impulsive, inadvertent, indeliberate, indisposed, indocile, inevitable, inherent, innate, instinctive, instinctual, libidinal, mandatory, mechanical, mutinous, natural, necessary, obligatory, opposed, perfunctory, recalcitrant, reflex, reflexive, refractory, required, resistant, snap, spontaneous, subliminal, sulky, sullen, unadvised, uncalculated, unconscious, unconsenting, unconsidered, uncontrollable, uncontrolled, undeliberate, undeliberated, undesigned, unguarded, unguided, unintended, unintentional, unlearned, unmeant, unmeditated, unplanned, unpremeditated, unprompted, unpurposed, unstudied, unthinking, unthought-of, unwilled, unwilling, unwitting