# voluntary

Pronunciation: US say "VOL-uhn-tair-ee" /ˌvo.lɔnˈtɛ.ri/; say "VOL-uhn-tree" UK /ˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/, AUS /ˈvɔl.ən.tɹi/

## Adjective

1. Done, given, or carried out of one's own free will, without compulsion.
   - Simple: Done or given because you choose to, not because you are forced.
   - _The witness gave a voluntary statement to the police that afternoon._
   - _Employees made voluntary contributions to the relief fund._
2. Done by deliberate design or intention rather than by accident.
   - Simple: Done on purpose, because someone meant to do it.
   - _Investigators concluded the fire was voluntary, set with clear intent._
   - _The omission was voluntary, a deliberate choice to withhold the figures._
3. Performed or undertaken without payment, typically as a service to others.
   - Simple: Done without being paid, often to help other people.
   - _Many retirees take up voluntary roles in local charities._
   - _The hospital relies on voluntary staff to run its gift shop._
4. Possessing the capacity to will or choose; having the faculty of volition.
   - Simple: Able to choose and act by using one's own will.
   - _Philosophers debated whether animals are voluntary agents or driven purely by instinct._
   - _A voluntary soul, in this account, originates its own actions._
6. Relating to voluntarism, the doctrine favoring freely given action or support over compulsion or state control.
   - Simple: Connected with the idea that groups should rely on free giving and choice, not on force or the state.
   - _The pamphlet defended voluntary principles in education._
   - _Nineteenth-century reformers championed a voluntary approach to funding religion._

## Noun

5. A brief musical piece for one instrument, frequently improvised in part.
   - Simple: A short piece of music played on one instrument, often partly made up as you go.
   - _The recital opened with a lively voluntary on the harpsichord._
   - _Several voluntaries were performed between the readings._
7. A person who offers to take part or help of their own free will; a volunteer.
   - Simple: A person who chooses to do a job or task without being forced or paid.
   - _The regiment welcomed a fresh batch of voluntaries that spring._
   - _He served as a voluntary in the relief effort._
8. A supporter of voluntarism; one who holds that institutions should rest on voluntary support rather than state compulsion.
   - Simple: A person who believes things should be done by free choice and giving, not by force.
   - _The voluntaries of the period campaigned against compulsory church rates._
   - _He became a leading voluntary in the disestablishment debate._

## Adverb

9. By one's own free will; willingly. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: By one's own choice and not because of being forced.
   - _The tenants quit the land voluntary, asking nothing in return._
   - _He yielded voluntary, bowing to no man's command._

## Origin

From Middle English voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius ("willing, of free will"), which came from voluntās ("will, choice, desire") and ultimately from volo ("to will"). It displaced the native Old English selfwille, literally "self-willed."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/voluntary (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).