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as in optional
subject to one's freedom of choice participation in the resort's recreational activities is strictly voluntary

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word voluntary different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of voluntary are deliberate, intentional, and willing. While all these words mean "done or brought about of one's own will," voluntary implies freedom and spontaneity of choice or action without external compulsion.

a voluntary confession

Where would deliberate be a reasonable alternative to voluntary?

While the synonyms deliberate and voluntary are close in meaning, deliberate implies full consciousness of the nature of one's act and its consequences.

deliberate acts of sabotage

When is it sensible to use intentional instead of voluntary?

Although the words intentional and voluntary have much in common, intentional stresses an awareness of an end to be achieved.

the intentional concealment of vital information

When could willing be used to replace voluntary?

The synonyms willing and voluntary are sometimes interchangeable, but willing implies a readiness and eagerness to accede to or anticipate the wishes of another.

willing obedience

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of voluntary Open jobs remained high, voluntary quits (a sign of workplace confidence) were also high. Eli Amdur, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025 While several agency heads have since said that responses to the email are voluntary and will not affect employment, Trump has backed Musk. David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025 That begins in person in less than two months when the Bears’ voluntary OTAs take place before the draft. Kevin Fishbain, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025 Justices discussed whether a voluntary dismissal can qualify for special judicial relief and reopening, even if the statute of limitations would normally prevent it. Jessica Alvarado Gamez, The Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for voluntary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for voluntary
Adjective
  • Within the past couple of years, the group has become a part of Arrowhead Kingdom, an all-volunteer national network of Chiefs fan groups.
    Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2023
  • That’s noteworthy for a show based at a high-school auditorium in Litchfield and run by a staff that is almost entirely volunteer, including the show’s star and its producer.
    Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2022
Adjective
  • The board agreed and voted unanimously to make the class optional this coming schoolyear instead of mandatory.
    Marsha Sutton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The new Certificate of Need process would shorten many of those time frames, with the period to determine the completion of applications shrinking from 30 to just three days followed by decision deadlines cut in half and public hearings made optional, according to a release from Anwar.
    Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Your subconscious mind processes thousands of data points your conscious mind doesn't register.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Parade Budget conscious shoppers will find solace in the affordable price point and top-notch bra designs at Parade.
    Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • AfD supporters are among a minority of Germans willing to speak highly of their country and its long history.
    Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Between the two of them, Basel is the more reticent, the one less willing to dream out loud.
    Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The surprise that followed was more insidious: a slow and deliberate betrayal in court.
    Dylan Moore, National Review, 1 Mar. 2025
  • This condition is what philosopher Charles Mills, speaking of the American context, labeled epistemological ignorance—a deliberate unknowing, an insistence on the myth of white superiority, of white exceptionalism.
    Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The spacecraft then reached its intended orbit about 44 minutes later before establishing communication at 8:17 p.m. with mission controllers on the ground, according to Intuitive Machines.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Everything can still serve its intended purpose though.
    Tom Mylan, Bon Appétit, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Replay assist was used in 2024 to pick up flags thrown for roughing the passer (contact with head/neck), unnecessary roughness (runner out of bounds), intentional grounding and ineligible player downfield.
    Rob Maaddi, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Earning admission to these and other competitive law programs requires intentional strategy and hands-on exploration.
    Christopher Rim, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Even more than his strong, octave-surfing Ontario accent, his willed congeniality—a mix of natural reserve and a morbid aversion to pretense—spoke to something in my bones.
    Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 14 Dec. 2023
  • Read: The changing sound of male rage in rock music Underscoring his willed isolation is the fact that Fight Club intentionally seems to take place nowhere.
    Stephen Kearse, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Voluntary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/voluntary. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on voluntary

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