单词 | voluntary |
释义 | vol·un·tar·y ![]() adj. 1. Done or undertaken of one's own free will: a voluntary decision to leave the job. 2. Acting or done willingly and without constraint or expectation of reward: a voluntary hostage; voluntary community work. 3. Normally controlled by or subject to individual volition: voluntary muscle contractions. 4. Capable of making choices; having the faculty of will: "This law of happiness ... resides in the exercise of the active capacities of a voluntary agent" (John Dewey). 5. Supported by contributions or charitable donations rather than by government appropriations: voluntary hospitals. 6. Law a. Without legal obligation or consideration: a voluntary conveyance of property. b. Done intentionally but without premeditation or deliberation, as when under the influence of an intense emotional reaction: voluntary manslaughter. n. pl. vol·un·tar·ies 1. Music a. A short piece of music, often improvised on a solo instrument, played as an introduction to a larger work. b. A piece for solo organ, often improvised, played before, during, or after a religious service. 2. A volunteer. [Middle English, from Latin voluntārius, from voluntās, choice, from velle, vol-, to wish; see wel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] vol′un·tari·ly (-târə-lē) adv. volun·tar′i·ness n. Synonyms: voluntary, intentional, deliberate, willful, willing These adjectives mean being or resulting from one's own free will. Voluntary implies the operation of unforced choice: "Ignorance, when it is voluntary, is criminal" (Samuel Johnson). Intentional applies to something undertaken to further a plan or realize an aim: "I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm" (Hippocratic Oath). Deliberate stresses premeditation and full awareness of the character and consequences of one's acts: taking deliberate and decisive action. Willful implies deliberate, headstrong persistence in a self-determined course of action: a willful waste of time. Willing suggests ready or cheerful acquiescence in the proposals or requirements of another: "The first requisite of a good citizen ... is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight" (Theodore Roosevelt). |
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