Definition of voluntary Voluntary

/vɑˈlʌntɛɹi/ - [valunteree] - vol•un•tar•y

We found 22 definitions of voluntary from 6 different sources.

What does voluntary mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: voluntaries
voluntary - composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance
		solo a flight in which the aircraft pilot is unaccompanied
voluntary - (military) a person who freely enlists for service
		volunteer, military volunteer
		military man, serviceman, military personnel, man someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force; "two men stood sentry duty"
		armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"
Adjective
voluntary - 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"
		nonvoluntary, unvoluntary, involuntary not subject to the control of the will; "involuntary manslaughter"; "involuntary servitude"; "an involuntary shudder"; "It (becoming a hero) was involuntary. They sank my boat"- John F.Kennedy
		conscious (followed by `of') showing realization or recognition of something; "few voters seem conscious of the issue's importance"; "conscious of having succeeded"; "the careful tread of one conscious of his alcoholic load"- Thomas Hardy
		willing disposed or inclined toward; "a willing participant"; "willing helpers"
		intended future; betrothed; "his intended bride"
		wilful, willful done by design; "the insult was intentional"; "willful disobedience"
		freewill done of your own accord; "a freewill offering"
		self-imposed voluntarily assumed or endured; "self-imposed exile"
		uncoerced, unforced, willing not brought about by coercion or force; "the confession was uncoerced"
voluntary - controlled by individual volition; "voluntary motions"; "voluntary muscles"
		physiology processes and functions of an organism

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Wiktionary

voluntary (Noun)
A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
voluntary (Noun)
A volunteer.
voluntary (Adverb)
Voluntarily.
voluntary (Adjective)
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
voluntary (Adjective)
Working or done without payment.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

voluntary (v. t.)
Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice.
voluntary (v. t.)
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.
voluntary (v. t.)
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.
voluntary (v. t.)
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.
voluntary (v. t.)
Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent.
voluntary (v. t.)
Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
voluntary (v. t.)
Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.
voluntary (n.)
One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer.
voluntary (n.)
A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
voluntary (n.)
One who advocates voluntaryism.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

voluntary
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.

Wikipedia

music
In music a voluntary is a piece of music, usually for organ, which is played as part of a church service. The music that an organist plays before and after a service is always called a voluntary.

The word “voluntary” can be used for the title of a piece of music. The title was often used by English composers in the late Renaissance or Baroque periods for a piece of organ music that was free in style, i.e. it did not have to be composed in a strict form such as sonata form or a fugue. It was meant to sound as if it was being improvised (the word voluntary in general means “free”, i.e. not “forced to do something”).

Composers such as Orlando Gibbons, John Blow and Henry Purcell wrote voluntaries, although sometimes they preferred to use other titles such as "fancy" (an English form of the Italian word "fantasia"), or even "fugue". However, these "fugues" were not composed in the proper fugue style: they just started off with imitation as in a fugue, but continued in a freer style.

Some voluntaries were called "double voluntaries". These were pieces written for organs with two manuals (keyboards). The pieces contrasted a loud manual with a soft one.

Some voluntaries were known as "trumpet voluntaries". These were voluntaries which had a tune which was played (with the right hand) on a stop called a “trumpet” or a “cornet”. Two very famous trumpet voluntaries, often played at weddings, are the trumpet voluntary by Henry Purcell and the one by Jeremiah Clarke (which people used to