Voluntary — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

(military) a person who freely enlists for service

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

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/vˈɑːləntɚɹi/

🇬🇧British English

/vˈɒləntəɹi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/vˈɒləntəɹi/

4 syllables Say it as /vˈɑːləntɚɹi/.

Examples

man is a voluntary agent
participation was voluntary
voluntary manslaughter

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

volunteer military volunteer

Antonyms

draftee involuntary

Parts of Speech

noun	(military) a person who freely enlists for service
noun	composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance
adjective	of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled “man is a voluntary agent”
adjective	controlled by individual volition “voluntary motions”

Word Forms

voluntary	adjective	of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled
volunteer	verb	do volunteer work
voluntary	noun	(military) a person who freely enlists for service

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

freiwillig

(Militär) eine Person, die sich freiwillig zum Dienst meldet

🇫🇷French

volontaire

(militaire) une personne qui s'enrôle librement pour le service

🇪🇸Spanish

voluntario

(militar) una persona que se alista libremente para el servicio

🇮🇹Italian

volontario

(militare) una persona che si arruola liberamente per il servizio

🇳🇱Dutch

vrijwillig

(militair) een persoon die zich vrijwillig meldt voor dienst

🇵🇹Portuguese

voluntário

(militar) uma pessoa que se alista livremente para o serviço

🇷🇺Russian

добровольный

(военный) человек, свободно поступающий на службу

India

🇮🇳Hindi

स्वैच्छिक

(सैन्य) वह व्यक्ति जो स्वतंत्र रूप से सेवा के लिए भर्ती होता है

🇧🇩Bengali

স্বেচ্ছায়

(সামরিক) একজন ব্যক্তি যিনি অবাধে পরিষেবার জন্য তালিকাভুক্ত হন

🇮🇳Tamil

தன்னார்வ

(இராணுவம்) சேவைக்காக சுதந்திரமாகப் பதிவு செய்யும் நபர்

🇮🇳Telugu

స్వచ్ఛందంగా

(సైనిక) సేవ కోసం స్వేచ్ఛగా నమోదు చేసుకునే వ్యక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

ऐच्छिक

(लष्करी) एक व्यक्ती जी मुक्तपणे सेवेसाठी नोंदणी करते

🇮🇳Gujarati

સ્વૈચ્છિક

(લશ્કરી) એક વ્યક્તિ જે મુક્તપણે સેવા માટે ભરતી કરે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸ್ವಯಂಪ್ರೇರಿತ

(ಮಿಲಿಟರಿ) ಸೇವೆಗೆ ಮುಕ್ತವಾಗಿ ಸೇರ್ಪಡೆಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സ്വമേധയാ

(സൈനിക) സേവനത്തിനായി സ്വതന്ത്രമായി ചേരുന്ന ഒരു വ്യക്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸਵੈ-ਇੱਛਤ

(ਫੌਜੀ) ਇੱਕ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਜੋ ਸੇਵਾ ਲਈ ਸੁਤੰਤਰ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਭਰਤੀ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

رضاکارانہ

(فوجی) وہ شخص جو آزادانہ طور پر خدمت کے لیے اندراج کرتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

自愿

（军事）自由入伍服役的人

🇯🇵Japanese

自発的な

(軍隊) 自由に軍務に就く人

🇰🇷Korean

자발적인

(군)복무를 위해 자유롭게 입대하는 사람

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tự nguyện

(quân sự) người tự nguyện nhập ngũ

🇹🇭Thai

โดยสมัครใจ

(ทหาร) บุคคลที่สมัครเข้ารับราชการอย่างเสรี

🇮🇩Indonesian

sukarela

(Militer) seseorang yang dengan bebas mendaftar untuk dinas

🇵🇭Filipino

kusang loob

(militar) isang tao na malayang nagpapatala para sa serbisyo

🇲🇾Malay

secara sukarela

(tentera) orang yang bebas mendaftar untuk perkhidmatan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

طوعي

(عسكري) الشخص الذي يتطوع للخدمة بحرية

🇮🇷Persian

داوطلبانه

(نظامی) شخصی که آزادانه برای خدمت نام نویسی می کند

🇹🇷Turkish

gönüllü

(askeri) özgürce hizmete kaydolan kişi

🇮🇱Hebrew

מִרָצוֹן

(צבאי) אדם שמתגייס לשירות באופן חופשי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'voluntary'?

The primary meaning of 'voluntary' is '(military) a person who freely enlists for service'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'voluntary' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'voluntary' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'voluntary' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'voluntary' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'voluntary' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'voluntary' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'voluntary' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'voluntary' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'voluntary' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'voluntary' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted