Search Result for "voluntary": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. (military) a person who freely enlists for service;
[syn: volunteer, military volunteer, voluntary]

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


ADJECTIVE (2)

1. of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled;
- Example: "man is a voluntary agent"
- Example: "participation was voluntary"
- Example: "voluntary manslaughter"
- Example: "voluntary generosity in times of disaster"
- Example: "voluntary social workers"
- Example: "a voluntary confession"

2. controlled by individual volition;
- Example: "voluntary motions"
- Example: "voluntary muscles"


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Voluntary \Vol"un*ta*ry\, a. [L. voluntarius, fr. voluntas will, choice, from the root of velle to will, p. pr. volens; akin to E. will: cf. F. volontaire, Of. also voluntaire. See Will, v. t., and cf. Benevolent, Volition, Volunteer.] 1. Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice. [1913 Webster] That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy. --N. W. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Our voluntary service he requires. --Milton. [1913 Webster] She fell to lust a voluntary prey. --Pope. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 5. Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent. [1913 Webster] God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him. --Hooker. [1913 Webster] 6. (Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration. [1913 Webster] 7. (Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Syn: See Spontaneous. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Voluntary \Vol"un*ta*ry\, n.; pl. Voluntaries. 1. One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. [R.] --Shak. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 3. (Eccl.) One who advocates voluntaryism. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

voluntary adj 1: of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled; "man is a voluntary agent"; "participation was voluntary"; "voluntary manslaughter"; "voluntary generosity in times of disaster"; "voluntary social workers"; "a voluntary confession" [ant: involuntary, nonvoluntary, unvoluntary] 2: controlled by individual volition; "voluntary motions"; "voluntary muscles" [ant: involuntary] n 1: (military) a person who freely enlists for service [syn: volunteer, military volunteer, voluntary] [ant: conscript, draftee, inductee] 2: composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

104 Moby Thesaurus words for "voluntary": Vorspiel, advised, aimed, aimed at, alternative, arbitrary, autonomous, avant-propos, breakthrough, calculated, chosen, conative, concert overture, conscious, considered, contemplated, curtain raiser, deliberate, deliberated, descant, designed, discretional, discretionary, disjunctive, dramatic overture, elected, elective, envisaged, envisioned, exordium, foreword, free, free will, front matter, frontispiece, gratuitous, independent, innovation, intended, intentional, introduction, knowing, leap, meant, meditated, nonmandatory, of design, offered, operatic overture, optional, overture, planned, postulate, preamble, preface, prefix, prefixture, preliminary, prelude, premeditated, premise, presupposition, proem, proffered, projected, prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, prologue, proposed, protasis, purposed, purposeful, purposive, self-acting, self-active, self-determined, self-determining, spontaneous, studied, teleological, unasked, unbesought, unbidden, uncalled-for, uncoerced, uncompelled, unconstrained, unforced, uninfluenced, uninvited, unpressured, unprompted, unrequested, unrequired, unsolicited, unsought, vamp, verse, volitional, volunteer, willful, willing, witting
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

VOLUNTARY. Willingly; done with one's consent; negligently. Wolff, Sec. 5. 2. To render an act criminal or tortious it must be voluntary. If a man, therefore, kill another without a will on his part, while engaged in the performance of a lawful act, and having taken proper care to prevent it, he is not guilty of any crime. And if he commit an injury to the person or property of another, he is not liable for damages, unless the act has been voluntary or through negligence, as when a collision takes place between two ships without any fault in either. 2 Dobs. R. 83 3 Hagg. Adm. R. 320, 414. 3. When the crime or injury happens in the performance of an unlawful act, the party will be considered as having acted voluntarily. 4. A negligent escape permitted by an officer having the custody of a prisoner will be presumed as voluntary; under a declaration or count charging the escape to have been voluntary, the party will, therefore, be allowed to give a negligent escape in evidence. 1 Saund. 35, n. 1. So Will.