Voluntarily

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˌvɑlənˈtɛɹɪli/

Definitions

1. Done without being forced or required; of one's own free will and choice
2. Acting with full consent and initiative without any pressure or coercion
3. Performed out of personal will without any external compulsion

Etymology: "Voluntarily" is a plain formation: the adjective "voluntary" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added. The adjective comes from Latin "voluntarius", meaning "of free will," from "voluntas" ("will"), and entered English in the late Middle Ages as "voluntarie." The Latin root traces back to the same prehistoric stem that gave English words for wanting and choosing, though the English word itself is a direct product of that Latin borrowing rather than anything inherited. The ending does the adverbial work. The suffix "-ly" descends from Old English "-līċe," itself rooted in the noun "līc" ("body" or "form"), which is why "-ly" once meant something like "in the form of." Over centuries "-līċe" wore down to "-ly," and it attached to countless adjectives, so "voluntarily" joined a large family of adverbs built the same way.

Synonyms: willingly, freely, intentionally, deliberately, spontaneously

Antonyms: involuntarily, compulsorily, unwillingly, forcedly, obligatorily