VOLUNTARY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does voluntary mean? 

• VOLUNTARY (noun)
  The noun VOLUNTARY has 2 senses:

1. (military) a person who freely enlists for service

2. composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance

  Familiarity information: VOLUNTARY used as a noun is rare.

• VOLUNTARY (adjective)
  The adjective VOLUNTARY has 2 senses:

1. of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled

2. controlled by individual volition

  Familiarity information: VOLUNTARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VOLUNTARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(military) a person who freely enlists for service

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

military volunteer; voluntary; volunteer

Hypernyms ("voluntary" is a kind of...):

man; military man; military personnel; serviceman (someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Derivation:

voluntary (of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled)

volunteer (do volunteer work)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("voluntary" is a kind of...):

solo (a musical composition for one voice or instrument (with or without accompaniment))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "voluntary"):

postlude (a voluntary played at the end of a religious service)

• VOLUNTARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled

Context example:

a voluntary confession

Similar:

wilful; willful (done by design)

freewill (done of your own accord)

self-imposed (voluntarily assumed or endured)

uncoerced; unforced; willing (not brought about by coercion or force)

unpaid; volunteer (without payment)

Also:

conscious (knowing and perceiving; having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts)

intended (resulting from one's intentions)

willing (disposed or inclined toward)

Antonym:

involuntary (not subject to the control of the will)

Derivation:

voluntary ((military) a person who freely enlists for service)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Controlled by individual volition

Context example:

voluntary muscles

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Antonym:

involuntary (controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control)

 Context examples 

These groups conduct, on a voluntary basis, laboratory research and/or clinical trials on all types of cancers using a multidisciplinary approach.

(European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, NCI Thesaurus)

"What would Uncle Reed say to you, if he were alive?" was my scarcely voluntary demand.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He made a complete voluntary confession.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It results in weakness and atrophy of the muscles which leads to an inability to initiate and control voluntary movements.

(Familial Amyloidosis, NCI Thesaurus)

My taking orders, I assure you, is quite as voluntary as Maria's marrying.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

My present situation was one in which all voluntary thought was swallowed up and lost.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Voluntary muscles are the ones you can control, like in your arms and legs.

(Neuromuscular Disorders, NIH)

These neurons transmit messages from your brain and spinal cord to your voluntary muscles - the ones you can control, like in your arms and legs.

(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

The hallmark of this disease is the selective death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, leading to paralysis of voluntary muscles.

(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

“My son's great capacity was tempted on, there, by a feeling of voluntary emulation and conscious pride,” the fond lady went on to say.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)