What is another word for voluntary?
Synonyms for voluntary
ˈvɒl ənˌtɛr ivol·un·ta·ry
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word voluntary.
Wiktionary
voluntaryadjective
Synonyms:
willful, optional, discretionary, volitionalAntonyms:
compulsory, involuntary, obligatoryvoluntaryadjective
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
Synonyms:
volitional, willful, optional, discretionaryAntonyms:
involuntary, obligatory, compulsoryvoluntaryadjective
A volunteer
Synonyms:
volitional, optional, willful, discretionaryAntonyms:
compulsory, obligatory, involuntary
English Synonyms and Antonyms
voluntary
That is spontaneous which is freely done, with no external compulsion and, in human actions, without special premeditation or distinct determination of the will; that is voluntary which is freely done with distinct act of will; that is involuntary which is independent of the will, and perhaps in opposition to it; a willing act is not only in accordance with will, but with desire. Thus voluntary and involuntary, which are antonyms of each other, are both partial synonyms of spontaneous. We speak of spontaneous generation, spontaneous combustion, spontaneous sympathy, an involuntary start, an unbidden tear, voluntary agreement, willing submission. A babe's smile in answer to that of its mother is spontaneous; the smile of a pouting child wheedled into good humor is involuntary. In physiology the action of the heart and lungs is called involuntary; the growth of the hair and nails is spontaneous; the action of swallowing is voluntary up to a certain point, beyond which it becomes involuntary or automatic. In the fullest sense of that which is not only without the will but distinctly in opposition to it, or compulsory, involuntary becomes an antonym, not only of voluntary but of spontaneous; as, involuntary servitude. A spontaneous outburst of applause is of necessity an act of volition, but so completely dependent on sympathetic impulse that it would seem frigid to call it voluntary, while to call it involuntary would imply some previous purpose or inclination not to applaud.
Synonyms:
automatic, free, impulsive, instinctive, involuntary, spontaneous, unbidden, willing
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
voluntary
Synonyms:
deliberate, spontaneous, free, intentional, optional, discretional, unconstrained, willingAntonyms:
compulsory, coercive, necessitated, involuntary
Princeton's WordNet
volunteer, military volunteer, voluntarynoun
(military) a person who freely enlists for service
Synonyms:
unpaid worker, military volunteer, volunteerAntonyms:
unwilling, forced, unwilled, vegetative, unvoluntary, reflexive, involuntary, automatic, unconscious, driven, nonvoluntary, goaded, reflex(a), autonomicvoluntaryadjective
composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance
Synonyms:
military volunteer, volunteerAntonyms:
reflex(a), involuntary, unwilled, forced, unwilling, autonomic, reflexive, unconscious, automatic, nonvoluntary, unvoluntary, goaded, vegetative, drivenvoluntaryadjective
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"
Antonyms:
driven, vegetative, reflex(a), involuntary, reflexive, autonomic, unwilled, nonvoluntary, goaded, unwilling, automatic, unvoluntary, unconscious, forcedvoluntaryadjective
controlled by individual volition
"voluntary motions"; "voluntary muscles"
Antonyms:
reflex(a), forced, vegetative, unconscious, involuntary, unvoluntary, nonvoluntary, autonomic, driven, reflexive, unwilling, unwilled, goaded, automatic
Matched Categories
Dictionary of English Synonymes
voluntaryadjective
Synonyms:
spontaneous, free, unforced, unconstrained, without compulsionvoluntaryadjective
Synonyms:
willing, from inclinationvoluntaryadjective
Synonyms:
designed, intended, intentional, purposed
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
voluntaryadjective
Synonyms:
free, volitional, unforced, spontaneousAntonyms:
involuntary
PPDB, the paraphrase database
List of paraphrases for "voluntary":
volunteer, volunteers, voluntarily, optional, volunteering, volontaires, freiwilligen, volontari, volunteerism, wilful, volontaire, deliberate, volunteered, voluntariness, freewill, spontaneous, intentional, boneheads
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#42 | free | |
#1984 | optional | |
#2785 | automatic | |
#3396 | volunteer | |
#3912 | willing | |
#4186 | volunteers | |
#5512 | voluntary | |
#12696 | volunteering | |
#13632 | spontaneous | |
#15310 | voluntarily | |
#15634 | deliberate | |
#16488 | discretionary | |
#16556 | intentional | |
#21154 | volunteered | |
#22716 | involuntary | |
#29981 | willful | |
#39483 | volunteerism | |
#40416 | impulsive | |
#47195 | instinctive | |
#50683 | unconstrained | |
#61099 | wilful | |
#85817 | freewill | |
#114255 | volitional | |
#140105 | unbidden | |
#146688 | voluntariness | |
#210406 | boneheads | |
#248468 | volontaires | |
#303295 | volontaire |
How to use voluntary in a sentence?
Introducing new unilateral sanctions against the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sebastopol by the USA and European Union is direct evidence that the West has acknowledged that the decision by the Crimeans to rejoin Russia was unanimous and voluntary, that's why they chose the 'punishment' to be collective.
One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.
The history of man is a graveyard of great cultures that came to catastrophic ends because of their incapacity for planned, rational, voluntary reaction to challenge.
Certainly voluntary compliance is at the top of the list, because the last thing you want to do is engage in enforcement activities, we have 36,000 officers plus, but we have 8.6 million people, and so there's no way you can enforce your way out of this. You've got to get voluntary compliance.
NYBC's support of the chimpanzees was entirely voluntary, offered on a philanthropic basis to permit discussions regarding Liberia's need to fulfill their responsibilities until the Government of Liberia could take over, the Government of Liberia and animal rights organizations knew all along that our support was voluntary and could not continue.
Translations for voluntary
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- طوعيArabic
- voluntariCatalan, Valencian
- dobrovolnýCzech
- ohne Bezahlung, freiwillig, ehrenamtlichGerman
- εθελοντικός, προαιρετικός, εκούσιος, εθελούσιοςGreek
- volontaEsperanto
- voluntarioSpanish
- vapaaehtoinen, suunniteltu, omaehtoinen, vapaa, talkoo-, tahdollinen, vapaaehtois-, tahallinen, halukasFinnish
- volontaire, bénévoleFrench
- saor-thoileachScottish Gaelic
- स्वैच्छिकHindi
- 志願してJapanese
- vrijwilligDutch
- frivilligNorwegian
- dobrowolnyPolish
- voluntárioPortuguese
- доброво́льныйRussian
- தன்னார்வTamil
- స్వచ్ఛందTelugu
- gonüllüTurkish
Get even more translations for voluntary »
Translation
Find a translation for the voluntary synonym in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add these synonyms to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"voluntary." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 3 Dec. 2023. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/voluntary>.
Discuss these voluntary synonyms with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In