different between volunteer vs involuntary

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin volunt?rius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary +? -eer.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /v?l.?n?t??/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /v?l.?n?t??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)
• Hyphenation: vol?un?teer

Noun

volunteer (plural volunteers)

1. One who enters into, or offers for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
2. (military) One who enters into military service voluntarily, but who, when in service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers; -- opposed to conscript; specifically, a voluntary member of the organized militia of a country as distinguished from the standing army.
3. (law) A person who acts out of their own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
4. (botany, agriculture) A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see volunteer plant in Wikipedia.
5. A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.

Related terms

• voluntarism
• voluntarist
• volunteership

Translations

Verb

volunteer (third-person singular simple present volunteers, present participle volunteering, simple past and past participle volunteered)

1. (intransitive) To enlist oneself as a volunteer.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To do or offer to do something voluntarily.

   to volunteer for doing the dishes

3. (transitive) To offer, usually unprompted.

   to volunteer an explanation

4. (intransitive, botany) To grow without human sowing or intentional cultivation.
5. (transitive, informal) To offer the services of (someone else) to do something.

   My sister volunteered me to do the dishes.

Translations

References

• volunteer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

From in- +? voluntary, from Late Latin involontarius, from in + volontarius.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

involuntary (comparative more involuntary, superlative most involuntary)

1. Without intention; unintentional.
2. Not voluntary or willing; contrary or opposed to explicit will or desire; unwilling.

Synonyms

• (without intention): inadvertent, unintended; see also Thesaurus:unintentional
• (not voluntary): unbewised, unvoluntary; see also Thesaurus:compulsory

Derived terms

• involuntarily
• involuntariness
• involuntary manslaughter

Related terms

• volunteer

Translations

References

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