voluntary
/ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
adj
Done by design or intention; intentional.
adj
Of or relating to voluntarism.
noun
A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
noun
A volunteer.
Example Sentences
- "September 10, 1828, Nathaniel William Taylor, Sermon delivered in the Chapel of Yale College That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy."
- "She fell, to lust a voluntary prey."
- "If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter."
- "Wikimedia is a voluntary service."
- "[…] God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary agent, intending before-hand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him."
- "a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church"
Etymology
From Middle English voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, of free will”), from voluntās (“will, choice, desire”), from volēns, present participle of volo (“to will”). Displaced native Old English selfwille (literally “self-willed”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *welh₁-, voluntarie, volontaire, voluntārius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/
- British English: /ˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/