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Voluntary   /vˈɑləntɛri/   Listen
adjective
Voluntary  adj.  
1.
Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice. "That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy."
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. "Our voluntary service he requires." "She fell to lust a voluntary prey."
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.
(Physiol.) 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. "God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him."
6.
(Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
7.
(Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.
Voluntary affidavit or Voluntary oath (Law), an affidavit or oath made in an extrajudicial matter.
Voluntary conveyance (Law), a conveyance without valuable consideration.
Voluntary escape (Law), the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff.
Voluntary jurisdiction. (Eng. Eccl. Law) See Contentious jurisdiction, under Contentious.
Voluntary waste. (Law) See Waste, n., 4.
Synonyms: See Spontaneous.


noun
Voluntary  n.  (pl. voluntaries)  
1.
One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. (R.)
2.
(Mus.) A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
3.
(Eccl.) One who advocates voluntaryism.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Voluntary" Quotes from Famous Books



... very essence, and such a transition as death in its experience, furnishes us with a sufficient task in the mere ceaseless government and education which it requires, without our superadding to this difficult charge the culpability of infinite neglect, the absolute damage and injury and all the voluntary deterioration, sin, and sorrow which ...
— Records of Later Life • Frances Anne Kemble
... conversation with his captor he displayed conversational powers that showed an ability to please, and as woman kind, even among fairy circles, are, according to an Irish proverb, "aisily caught be an oily tongue," the presumption is against the expulsion of the Leprechawn and in favor of his voluntary retirement. ...
— Irish Wonders • D. R. McAnally, Jr.
... constructed. The ministers of the Church were rendered submissive to the civil power. Primary education became alike free and compulsory. As the phrase went, Guzman Blanco "taught Venezuela to read." At the end of his term of office he went into voluntary retirement. ...
— The Hispanic Nations of the New World - Volume 50 in The Chronicles Of America Series • William R. Shepherd
... magnitude that it can be compared only with the Napoleonic wars. But at that time also the higher classes had to contribute to the war expenditures. In 1810 an income tax was put upon the landed nobility. Wishing to make it appear that the war tax is a voluntary contribution, the Government levied it according to the declarations of the taxpayers and refused to listen to informers as to tax-dodging. The tax rate was progressive, with a maximum of 10 per cent. All incomes below 500 rubles ($250)[1] ...
— The New York Times Current History: the European War, February, 1915 • Various
... pealing in the voluntary rare, Through the fine oak-panelled ceiling went the maiden's broken prayer That she might but for a moment be allowed to have her sight, To see old Alec's honest face ...
— Successful Recitations • Various


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