voluntary

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is traditionally pronounced in British English with the stress on the first syllable, but the awkwardness of this pattern has led, under American influence, to the stress being placed often on the third syllable (-ar-).

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adjective

1. Of or relating to free exercise of the will: volitional, willing. See willing/unwilling.
2. Done by one's own choice: free, spontaneous, uncompelled, unforced, volitional, willful. See willing/unwilling.
3. Contributing one's time without pay: uncompensated, unpaid, unrecompensed, unremunerated, unsalaried. See pay/owe, work/play.
4. Done or said on purpose: deliberate, intended, intentional, purposeful, willful, witting. See purpose/purposelessness.

noun

Someone who offers his or her services freely: volunteer. See willing/unwilling, work/play.

adj

Definition: willing
Antonyms: forced, involuntary, obligatory, unwilling

A composed or improvised piece, usually for organ in the context of a church service. 16th and 17th-century English composers used the term interchangeably with ‘verse’ or ‘fancy’, and Byrd, Weelkes and Tomkins wrote voluntaries in a fugal style. Greene established the form of a slow introduction followed by an Allegro in fugal or concerto style, and most 18th-century composers, including Stanley and the elder John Alcock, used this structure. The form's continuous history ended with the Bach inspired works of Samuel Wesley, but many voluntaries for use before or after divine service have been composed since.

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Ballet in one act with choreography by Tetley, music by Poulenc, and designs by Ter-Arutunian. Premiered 22 Dec. 1973 by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Württembergische Staatstheater in Stuttgart, with Haydée, Cragun, Keil, R. Anderson, and Stripling. The ballet, created as a memorial to the choreographer John Cranko, who had died suddenly earlier in the year, is set to Poulenc's Concerto in G minor for Organ, Strings, and Timpani. According to Tetley, ‘Voluntaries—by musical definition—are free-ranging organ improvisations, often played before, during and after religious service. The Latin root of the word can also connot flight or desire, and the ballet is conceived as a series of linked voluntaries.’ It was revived for the Royal Ballet (1976), American Ballet Theatre (1977), Royal Danish Ballet (1978), Paris Opera Ballet (1982), Australian Ballet (1984), the National Ballet of Canada (1988) and English National Ballet (2000).

IN BRIEF: Done or given by choice. Also: Controlled by one's mind or will.

Desire and force between them are responsible for all our actions; desire causes our voluntary acts, force our involuntary. — Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).

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Accomplished in accordance with the will.

• v. culling — culling by decision of the farmer to accommodate the farm's management plan. See also culling.
• v. muscle — skeletal muscle; controlled by cerebral cortical centers.

For a list of words related to voluntary, see:

• Types of Music and Composition - voluntary: musical piece, sometimes improvised, performed by organist as prelude to larger work or church service
• Helpful, Positive, Responsible, or Nice

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See words rhyming with "voluntary."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Voluntary.

Common misspelling(s) of voluntary

• volontary

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - frivillig, vilkårlig, forsætlig
n. - frivillig, volontør, orgelsolo ved gudstjeneste

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    muskel under kontrol

Nederlands (Dutch)
vrijwillig, zelf-beslissend, met opzet, betreffende/ met de vrije wil, vrijwilliger, (religieus) muziekstuk, voorstander van onafhankelijke scholen/kerken

Français (French)
adj. - volontaire, spontané, librement consenti, facultatif, non obligatoire, bénévole
n. - volontaire, (Mus) volontaire

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    muscle volontaire

Deutsch (German)
adj. - freiwillig, willkürlich
n. - Orgelsolo, Kür

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    willkürlicher Muskel

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εθελοντικός, εκούσιος, θεληματικός, αυθόρμητος, ενσυνείδητος, συνειδητός
n. - οργανικό σόλο

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    εκούσιος μυς

Italiano (Italian)
volontario

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    muscolo volontario

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - voluntário, intencional, sem lucro
n. - solo de órgão (em ofício religioso) (m) (Mús.)

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    músculo controlado pela vontade (Anat.)

Русский (Russian)
добровольный, непреднамеренный, произвольный, неоплачиваемый

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    произвольно сокращающаяся мышца

Español (Spanish)
adj. - voluntario, espontáneo, benévolo
n. - voluntario

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    músculo estriado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - frivillig, avsiktlig
n. - volontär, frivilligt bidrag, orgelimprovisation

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
自动的, 主动的, 自愿的, 即兴演奏, 志愿者

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    横纹肌, 随意肌

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 自動的, 主動的, 自願的
n. - 即興演奏, 志願者

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    橫紋肌, 隨意肌

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 자발적인, 선택력이 있는, 임의의
n. - 자발적으로 한 일, 오르간 독주

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 自発的な, 任意寄付による, 故意の, 随意の, 意図的な
n. - オルガン独奏

idioms:

• voluntary muscle    随意筋

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) طوعي, ارادي (الاسم) قطعه موسيقيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮רצוני, חופשי, לא-כפוי, התנדבותי‬
n. - ‮קטע סולו לעוגב‬

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