different between voluntary vs willing

English

Etymology

From Middle English *voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin volunt?rius (“willing, of free will”), from volunt?s (“will, choice, desire”), from vol?ns, present participle of volo (“to will”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?v?.l?n.t?i/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?v?.l?n?t?.?i/
• Hyphenation: vol?un?ta?ry

Adjective

voluntary (comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

1. Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
   • September 10, 1828, Nathaniel William Taylor, Sermon delivered in the Chapel of Yale College

     That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
2. Done by design or intention; intentional.

   If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.

3. Working or done without payment.
4. Endowed with the power of willing.
5. Of or relating to voluntarism.

   a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church

Synonyms

• (acting of one's own free will): discretionary, optional, volitional; See also Thesaurus:optional
• (done by design or intention): intentional, willful
• (done without payment): honorary, pro bono, unpaid, unsalaried, unwaged
• (endowed with the power of willing): autonomous, spontaneous

Antonyms

• (all): involuntary
• (acting of one's own free will): compulsory, obligatory; See also Thesaurus:compulsory
• (done by design or intention): accidental
• (done without payment): paid, salaried

Derived terms

• voluntarily
• voluntary aided school
• voluntary controlled school
• voluntary manslaughter

Related terms

• voluntarism
• voluntarist

Translations

Adverb

voluntary (comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

1. (obsolete) Voluntarily.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     And all that els was pretious and deare, / The sea unto him voluntary brings [...].

Noun

voluntary (plural voluntaries)

1. (music) A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
2. A volunteer.
3. A supporter of voluntarism; a voluntarist.

English

Etymology

• (adjective): Old English willende, present participle of willan
• (noun): Old English willung, from willian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?w?l??/
• Hyphenation: will?ing
• Rhymes: -?l??

Adjective

willing (comparative more willing, superlative most willing)

1. Ready to do something that is not (can't be expected as) a matter of course.

Synonyms

• agreeable, agreeing, consenting, voluntary; See also Thesaurus:acquiescent

Derived terms

• willing horse
• willingly
• willingness

Translations

Noun

willing (plural willings)

1. (rare or obsolete) The execution of a will.

Verb

willing

1. present participle of will

Further reading

• willing in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• willing in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.