SG Heritage Dictionary

Word of the Day: Catachrestical

Voluntary [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Acting by choice or spontaneously; acting without being influenced or impelled by another.

2. Free, or having power to act by choice; not being under restraint; as, man is a voluntary agent.

3. Proceeding from choice or free will.

4. That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action, is the true principle of orthodoxy.

5. Willing; acting with willingness.

6. She fell to lust a voluntary prey.

7. Done by design; purposed; intended. If a man kills another by lopping a tree, here is no voluntary murder.

8. Done freely, or of choice; proceeding from free will. He went into voluntary exile. He made a voluntary surrender.

9. Acting of his own accord; spontaneous; as the voluntary dictates of knowledge.

10. Subject to the will; as the voluntary motions of an animal. Thus the motion of a leg or an arm is voluntary but the motion of the heart is involuntary.

11. A voluntary escape, in law, is the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff.

12. Voluntary jurisdiction, is that which is exercised in doing that which no one opposes; as in granting dispensations, etc.

13. Voluntary affidavit or oath, is one made in an extra-judicial matter.

14. Voluntary waste, is that which is committed by positive acts.

Voluntary [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. [In this sense, volunteer is now generally used.]

2. In music, a piece played by a musician extemporarily, according to his fancy. In the Philosophical Transactions, we have a method of writing voluntaries, as fast as the musician plays the notes. This is by a cylinder turning under the keys of the organ.

3. A composition for the organ.

Voluntary [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer.

2. A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.

3. One who advocates voluntaryism.

Voluntary [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice.

2. Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one's self, or of itself; free.

3. Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed; intended; not accidental; as, if a man kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.

4. Of or pertaining to the will; subject to, or regulated by, the will; as, the voluntary motions of an animal, such as the movements of the leg or arm (in distinction from involuntary motions, such as the movements of the heart); the voluntary muscle fibers, which are the agents in voluntary motion.

5. Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent.

6. Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.

7. Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.

Voluntaryism [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The principle of supporting a religious system and its institutions by voluntary association and effort, rather than by the aid or patronage of the state.

Will Roget’s Thesaurus §600

N. will, volition, conation, velleity, liberum arbitrium, will and pleasure, free will, freedom, discretion, option, voluntariness, spontaneity, spontaneousness, originality, pleasure, wish, mind, desire, frame of mind, intention, predetermination, selfcontrol &c. determination, force of will

V. will, list, see fit, think fit, determine, enjoin, settle, volunteer, have a will of one's own, do what one chooses, have it all one's own way, have one's will, have one's own way, use one's discretion, exercise one's discretion, take upon oneself, take one's own course, take the law into one's own hands, do of one's own accord, do upon one's own authority, originate

Adj. voluntary, volitional, willful, free, optional, discretional, discretionary, volitient, volitive, minded, prepense, intended, autocratic, unbidden &c. (bid ), spontaneous, original, unconstrained

Adv. voluntarily, at will, at pleasure, a volonte, a discretion, al piacere, ad libitum, ad arbitrium, as one thinks proper, as it seems good to, a beneplacito, of one's won accord, of one's own free will, proprio motu, suo motu, ex meromotu, out of one's own head, by choice, purposely, deliberately

Phr. stet pro ratione voluntas, sic volo sic jubeo, a vostro beneplacito, beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere, deus vult, was man nicht kann meiden muss man willig leiden

Willingness Roget’s Thesaurus §602

N. willingness, voluntariness, willing mind, heart, disposition, inclination, leaning, animus, frame of mind, humor, mood, vein, bent, penchant, aptitude, docility, docibleness, persuasibleness, persuasibility, pliability, geniality, cordiality, goodwill, alacrity, readiness, earnestness, forwardness, eagerness, asset, compliance, pleasure, gratuitous service, labor of love, volunteer, volunteering

V. be willing, incline, lean to, mind, propend, had as lief, lend a willing ear, give a willing ear, turn a willing ear, have a half a mind to, have a great mind to, hold to, cling to, desire, see fit, think good, think proper, acquiesce, comply with, swallow the bait, nibble at the bait, gorge the hook, have no scruple of, make no scruple of, make no bones of, jump at, catch at, meet halfway, volunteer

Adj. willing, minded, fain, disposed, inclined, favorable, favorably- minded, favorably inclined, favorably disposed, nothing loth, in the vein, in the mood, in the humor, in the mind, ready, forward, earnest, eager, bent upon, predisposed, propense, docile, persuadable, persuasible, suasible, easily persuaded, facile, easy-going, tractable, genial, gracious, cordial, cheering, hearty, content, voluntary, gratuitous, spontaneous, unasked &c. (ask ), unforced

Adv. willingly, fain, freely, as lief, heart and soul, with pleasure, with all one's heart, with open arms, with good will, with right will, de bonne volonte, ex animo, con amore, heart in hand, nothing loth, without reluctance, of one's own accord, graciously, with a good grace, a la bonne heure, by all means, by all manner of means, to one's heart's content, yes

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

4 KJV and 1 BSB verses contain “Voluntary”

Leviticus 1:3

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD.

Leviticus 7:16

But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:

If, however, the sacrifice he offers is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day he presents his sacrifice, but the remainder may be eaten on the next day.

Ezekiel 46:12

Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

When the prince makes a freewill offering to the LORD, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the gate facing east must be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or peace offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate must be closed after he goes out.

1 Corinthians 9:17

For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.

Colossians 2:18

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.