voluntary

American  

[vol-uhn-ter-ee] / ˈvɒl ənˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. done, made, brought about, undertaken, etc., of one's own accord or by free choice.

   a voluntary contribution.

   Synonyms:

   designed, intended, planned, purposeful, considered

2. of, relating to, or acting in accord with the will.

   voluntary cooperation.

3. of, relating to, or depending on voluntary action.

   voluntary hospitals.

4. Law.

   1. acting or done without compulsion or obligation.

   2. done by intention, and not by accident.

      voluntary manslaughter.

   3. made without valuable consideration.

      a voluntary settlement.

5. Physiology. subject to or controlled by the will.

6. having the power of willing or choosing.

   a voluntary agent.

7. proceeding from a natural impulse; spontaneous.

   voluntary laughter.

   Synonyms:

   unconstrained, natural, unforced, free

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noun

voluntaries plural

1. something done voluntarily.

2. a piece of music, frequently spontaneous and improvised, performed as a prelude to a larger work, especially a piece of organ music performed before, during, or after an office of the church.

voluntary British  

/ -trɪ, ˈvɒləntərɪ /

adjective

1. performed, undertaken, or brought about by free choice, willingly, or without being asked

   a voluntary donation

2. (of persons) serving or acting in a specified function of one's own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration

   a voluntary social worker

3. done by, composed of, or functioning with the aid of volunteers

   a voluntary association

4. endowed with, exercising, or having the faculty of willing

   a voluntary agent

5. arising from natural impulse; spontaneous

   voluntary laughter

6. law

   1. acting or done without legal obligation, compulsion, or persuasion

   2. made without payment or recompense in any form

      a voluntary conveyance

7. (of the muscles of the limbs, neck, etc) having their action controlled by the will

8. maintained or provided by the voluntary actions or contributions of individuals and not by the state

   voluntary schools

   the voluntary system

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noun

1. music a composition or improvisation, usually for organ, played at the beginning or end of a church service

2. work done without compulsion

3. obsolete a volunteer, esp in an army

Synonym Usage

See deliberate. Voluntary, spontaneous agree in applying to something that is a natural outgrowth or natural expression arising from circumstances and conditions. Voluntary implies having given previous consideration, or having exercised judgment: a voluntary confession; a voluntary movement; The offer was a voluntary one. Something that is spontaneous arises as if by itself from the nature of the circumstances or condition: spontaneous applause, combustion, expression of admiration.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• voluntariness
  noun
• nonvoluntary
  adjective
• semivoluntary
  adjective
• unvoluntary
  adjective
• voluntarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• voluntaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of voluntary

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin voluntārius, equivalent to volunt(ās) “willingness, inclination” (ultimately representing a formation with -tās -ty ² on the present participle of velle “to want, wish”; see will ¹, -ent) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

Voluntary is an adjective that describes something you do because you want to, without being influenced or forced into it. Usually a voluntary act is something you consciously choose to do, like going into work even on a snow day. Voluntary comes from the Latin word voluntarius, which means "of one's free will." Voluntary can also describe a service given without any payment expected in return. For example, if your work for the community theater is voluntary, that means that you don't get paid for your time. If you're offering your voluntary help in this way, you might also be called a volunteer, someone who offers free help to assist others.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

voluntary voluntaries

The funeral industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is self-regulating, relying on voluntary codes and inspections by trade associations.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

The German auto group said Thursday that it reached an agreement with labor representatives on an “extensive workforce restructuring program” including voluntary severance packages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Volkswagen is weighing up to 100,000 job cuts across its 10 brands while Mercedes-Benz has its own voluntary redundancy program.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

The FDA, however, doubled down on the severity of the investigation, saying in an X post that the false positive doesn’t change “the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

Although membership was voluntary, not every child could join the Hitler Youth.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Usually these voluntaries were real milk-and-water affairs," he recalled, "but one day the organist did something really wild, which was thrilling.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 5, 2012

The manner in which conversions were effected by the Spanish priests may seem a little strange to the "voluntaries" of our day.

From Mexico and its Religion With Incidents of Travel in That Country During Parts of the Years 1851-52-53-54, and Historical Notices of Events Connected With Places Visited by Wilson, Robert A.

This letter finished, he went out and posted it with all the others he had written, and then passed the evening in listening to the organist practising grave anthems and voluntaries in the Cathedral.

From The Treasure of Heaven A Romance of Riches by Corelli, Marie

Certain music, indeed, especially voluntaries by a good player, at twilight—or idle rambles alone by the shore, or over prairie or on mountain road, for that matter—favor the right mood.

From Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Whitman, Walt

It was Sadie who disapproved of voluntaries and Lorelei?

From Emmy Lou's Road to Grace Being a Little Pilgrim's Progress by Martin, George Madden

Related Words

• spontaneous