free will

American  

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 British  

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 Cultural  

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

Instead, the fantasyland they live in is one they made of their own free will.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026

Such theological reasoning is serious, stalwart and chilly, not unrelated to the cold logic of double predestination and the denial of free will.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

"But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn't cause a problem for me."

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

Ministers hope offering the vaccine free will not only protect youngsters from the severe, although rare, complications of chickenpox, but also save parents taking time off work to look after a sick child.

From BBC • Aug. 28, 2025

“Of my own free will, I sever this knot,” Seth said, as Goldilocks squawked noisily.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull