free will

noun

1. free and independent choice; voluntary decision:

   You took on the responsibility of your own free will.

2. Philosophy. the doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.

free will

noun

1. 1. the apparent human ability to make choices that are not externally determined
   2. the doctrine that such human freedom of choice is not illusory Compare determinism
   3. ( as modifier )

      a free-will decision

2. the ability to make a choice without coercion

   he left of his own free will: I did not influence him

free will

1. The ability to choose, think, and act voluntarily. For many philosophers , to believe in free will is to believe that human beings can be the authors of their own actions and to reject the idea that human actions are determined by external conditions or fate. ( See determinism , fatalism , and predestination .)

Example Sentences

"Going back on my own free will, compared to all the rules I had to live by when I was last there, that was liberating for me."

From BBC

In the right dose it can reportedly make people highly suggestable - temporarily compromising a person’s free will.

From BBC

The song starts with an idle thought - “I cut my hair the way you say you like it / Have I got no free will?” - that spirals into an existential crisis.

From BBC

“What the Hearsts wanted to do more than anything is preserve the narrative that she didn’t do any of this on her own free will,” Harris said.

From Los Angeles Times

Whether or not we involuntarily commit and treat the mentally ill and addicted raises existential questions about free will, dignity and individual autonomy.

From Los Angeles Times