Volunteer — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

(military) a person who freely enlists for service

a person who performs voluntary work

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/vˌɑːləntˈɪɹ/

🇬🇧British English

/vˌɒləntˈiə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/vˌɒləntˈiə/

3 syllables Say it as /vˌɑːləntˈɪɹ/.

Examples

He volunteered the information
She volunteered to drive the old lady home
I offered to help with the dishes but the hostess would not hear of it

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

unpaid worker unpaid Tennessean military volunteer voluntary offer

Antonyms

draftee

Parts of Speech

noun	(military) a person who freely enlists for service
noun	a person who performs voluntary work
noun	a native or resident of Tennessee
verb	tell voluntarily “He volunteered the information”
verb	agree freely “She volunteered to drive the old lady home”
verb	do volunteer work
adjective	without payment “the soup kitchen was run primarily by unpaid helpers”

Word Forms

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

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Freiwilliger

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

🇫🇷French

bénévole

(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

vrijwilliger

(militair) een persoon die zich vrijwillig meldt voor dienst

🇵🇹Portuguese

voluntário

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

🇷🇺Russian

волонтер

(военный) человек, свободно поступающий на службу

India

🇮🇳Hindi

स्वयंसेवक

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

🇧🇩Bengali

স্বেচ্ছাসেবক

(সামরিক) একজন ব্যক্তি যিনি অবাধে পরিষেবার জন্য তালিকাভুক্ত হন

🇮🇳Tamil

தொண்டர்

(இராணுவம்) சேவைக்காக சுதந்திரமாகப் பதிவு செய்யும் நபர்

🇮🇳Telugu

స్వచ్ఛంద సేవకుడు

(సైనిక) సేవ కోసం స్వేచ్ఛగా నమోదు చేసుకునే వ్యక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

स्वयंसेवक

(लष्करी) एक व्यक्ती जी मुक्तपणे सेवेसाठी नोंदणी करते

🇮🇳Gujarati

સ્વયંસેવક

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

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವಕ

(ಮಿಲಿಟರಿ) ಸೇವೆಗೆ ಮುಕ್ತವಾಗಿ ಸೇರ್ಪಡೆಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സന്നദ്ധപ്രവർത്തകൻ

(സൈനിക) സേവനത്തിനായി സ്വതന്ത്രമായി ചേരുന്ന ഒരു വ്യക്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵਲੰਟੀਅਰ

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

🇵🇰Urdu

رضاکار

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

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

志愿者

（军事）自由入伍服役的人

🇯🇵Japanese

ボランティア

(軍隊) 自由に軍務に就く人

🇰🇷Korean

자원 봉사자

(군)복무를 위해 자유롭게 입대하는 사람

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tình nguyện viên

(quân sự) người tự nguyện nhập ngũ

🇹🇭Thai

อาสาสมัคร

(ทหาร) บุคคลที่สมัครเข้ารับราชการอย่างเสรี

🇮🇩Indonesian

sukarelawan

(Militer) seseorang yang dengan bebas mendaftar untuk dinas

🇵🇭Filipino

boluntaryo

(militar) isang tao na malayang nagpapatala para sa serbisyo

🇲🇾Malay

sukarelawan

(tentera) orang yang bebas mendaftar untuk perkhidmatan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

متطوع

(عسكري) الشخص الذي يتطوع للخدمة بحرية

🇮🇷Persian

داوطلب

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

🇹🇷Turkish

gönüllü

(askeri) özgürce hizmete kaydolan kişi

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהִתְנַדֵב

(צבאי) אדם שמתגייס לשירות באופן חופשי

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'volunteer' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted