volition

American  

[voh-lish-uhn, vuh-] / voʊˈlɪʃ ən, və- /

noun

1. the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing.

   She left of her own volition.

   Synonyms:

   choice, discretion

2. a choice or decision made by the will.

3. the power of willing; will.

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volition British  

/ vəˈlɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of exercising the will

   of one's own volition

2. the faculty or capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention; the will

3. the resulting choice or resolution

4. philosophy an act of will as distinguished from the physical movement it intends to bring about

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Related Words

See will ².

Other Word Forms

• nonvolition noun
• supervolition noun
• volitional adjective
• volitional; adjective
• volitionally adverb
• volitionary adjective

Etymology

Origin of volition

First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin volitiōn- (stem of volitiō ), equivalent to vol- (variant stem of velle “to want, wish”; will ¹ ) + -itiōn- -ition

Example Sentences

They are a family, but they are there of their own volition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

Ramaphosa said in a statement that the US had been expected to participate in the G20 meetings, "but unfortunately, it elected not to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg out of its own volition".

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025

He went back to pick them up, sliding them onto her feet so it looked as though she had been fully dressed when she got into the car, of her own volition.

From Slate • Nov. 6, 2025

Like his character, washed-up Formula One racer Sonny Hayes, Pitt is returning to the grandest version of this race by his own volition, with his own set of rules.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2025

This time a yell tears from my body of its own volition, joining with the others in agreement.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth