Adjacent Words

Voluntary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VOL'UNTARY, a. [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, etc.
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.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled; "man is a voluntary agent"; "participation was voluntary"; "voluntary manslaughter"; "voluntary generosity in times of disaster"; "voluntary social workers"; "a voluntary confession" [ant: involuntary, nonvoluntary, unvoluntary]
2: controlled by individual volition; "voluntary motions"; "voluntary muscles" [ant: involuntary] n
1: (military) a person who freely enlists for service [syn: volunteer, military volunteer, voluntary] [ant: conscript, draftee, inductee]
2: composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French voluntarie, from Latin voluntarius, from voluntas will, from velle to will, wish — more at will Date: 14th century 1. proceeding from the will or from one's own choice or consent 2. unconstrained by interference ; self-determining 3. done by design or intention ; intentional <voluntary manslaughter> 4. of, relating to, subject to, or regulated by the will <voluntary behavior> 5. having power of free choice 6. provided or supported by voluntary action <a voluntary organization> 7. acting or done of one's own free will without valuable consideration or legal obligation • voluntarily adverb • voluntariness noun Synonyms: voluntary, intentional, deliberate, willing mean done or brought about of one's own will. voluntary implies freedom and spontaneity of choice or action without external compulsion <a voluntary confession>. intentional stresses an awareness of an end to be achieved <the intentional concealment of vital information>. deliberate implies full consciousness of the nature of one's act and its consequences <deliberate acts of sabotage>. willing implies a readiness and eagerness to accede to or anticipate the wishes of another <willing obedience>. II. noun (plural -taries) Date: 1598 1. a. a prefatory often extemporized musical piece b. an improvisatory organ piece played before, during, or after a religious service 2. one who participates voluntarily ; volunteer

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 done, acting, or able to act of one's own free will; not constrained or compulsory, intentional (a voluntary gift). 2 unpaid (voluntary work). 3 (of an institution) supported by voluntary contributions. 4 Brit. (of a school) built by a voluntary institution but maintained by a local education authority. 5 brought about, produced, etc., by voluntary action. 6 (of a movement, muscle, or limb) controlled by the will. 7 (of a confession by a criminal) not prompted by a promise or threat. 8 Law (of a conveyance or disposition) made without return in money or other consideration. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a an organ solo played before, during, or after a church service. b the music for this. c archaic an extempore performance esp. as a prelude to other music. 2 (in competitions) a special performance left to the performer's choice. 3 hist. a person who holds that the Church or schools should be independent of the State and supported by voluntary contributions. Phrases and idioms: Voluntary Aid Detachment (in the UK) a group of organized voluntary first-aid and nursing workers. Voluntary Service Overseas a British organization promoting voluntary work in underdeveloped countries. Derivatives: voluntarily adv. voluntariness n. Etymology: ME f. OF volontaire or L voluntarius f. voluntas will

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Voluntary Vol"un*ta*ry, a. [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, v. 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 oath (Law), an affidavit or oath made in 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, n., 4. Syn: See Spontaneous.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Voluntary Vol"un*ta*ry, n.; 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Voluntary actions or activities are done because someone chooses to do them and not because they have been forced to do them. Attention is drawn to a special voluntary course in Commercial French... The scheme, due to begin next month, will be voluntary. ? compulsory ADJ • voluntarily I would only leave here voluntarily if there was a big chance to work abroad. ADV: ADV with v 2. Voluntary work is done by people who are not paid for it, but who do it because they want to do it. He'd been working at the local hostel for the handicapped on a voluntary basis. ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. A voluntary worker is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do it. Apna Arts has achieved more with voluntary workers in three years than most organisations with paid workers have achieved in ten... We depend solely upon our voluntary helpers. ADJ: usu ADJ n 4. A voluntary organization is controlled and organized by the people who have chosen to work for it, often without being paid, rather than receiving help or money from the government. Some local authorities and voluntary organizations also run workshops for disabled people... ADJ: ADJ n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

vol'-un-ta-ri: For the sake of variety the King James Version in Le 7:16; Eze 46:12 (bis) has rendered nedhabhah, by "voluntary offering" instead of the usual "freewill offering" (so the Revised Version (British and American)). The words "of his own voluntary will" in Le 1:3 the King James Version are a pure gloss, properly omitted in the Revised Version (British and American), as they represent nothing in the Hebrew text. 1 Macc 2:42 has "voluntarily" as part of the translation of hekousiazo, the Revised Version (British and American) "willingly."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Volitional. 2. Spontaneous, free, unforced, unconstrained, without compulsion, free-will. 3. Willing, from inclination. 4. Designed, intended, intentional, purposed, deliberate. 5. Optional, discretional. 6. (Law.) a. Free, without compulsion. b. Gratuitous, without consideration.

Moby Thesaurus

Vorspiel, advised, aimed, aimed at, alternative, arbitrary, autonomous, avant-propos, breakthrough, calculated, chosen, conative, concert overture, conscious, considered, contemplated, curtain raiser, deliberate, deliberated, descant, designed, discretional, discretionary, disjunctive, dramatic overture, elected, elective, envisaged, envisioned, exordium, foreword, free, free will, front matter, frontispiece, gratuitous, independent, innovation, intended, intentional, introduction, knowing, leap, meant, meditated, nonmandatory, of design, offered, operatic overture, optional, overture, planned, postulate, preamble, preface, prefix, prefixture, preliminary, prelude, premeditated, premise, presupposition, proem, proffered, projected, prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, prologue, proposed, protasis, purposed, purposeful, purposive, self-acting, self-active, self-determined, self-determining, spontaneous, studied, teleological, unasked, unbesought, unbidden, uncalled-for, uncoerced, uncompelled, unconstrained, unforced, uninfluenced, uninvited, unpressured, unprompted, unrequested, unrequired, unsolicited, unsought, vamp, verse, volitional, volunteer, willful, willing, witting