free will

American  

noun

1. free and independent choice; voluntary decision.

   You took on the responsibility of your own free will.

2. Philosophy. the doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.

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free will British  

noun

1. 1. the apparent human ability to make choices that are not externally determined

   2. the doctrine that such human freedom of choice is not illusory Compare determinism

   3. ( as modifier )

      a free-will decision

2. the ability to make a choice without coercion

   he left of his own free will: I did not influence him

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free will Cultural  

1. The ability to choose, think, and act voluntarily. For many philosophers, to believe in free will is to believe that human beings can be the authors of their own actions and to reject the idea that human actions are determined by external conditions or fate. (See determinism, fatalism, and predestination.)

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Example Sentences

No machine has free will, conscience, spiritual depth, the capacity for love, or the ability to grow through hardship, sacrifice and contemplation.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Those who do not subscribe and opt to use TikTok for free will see personalised ads.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

"But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn't cause a problem for me."

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

Jordan understood the danger of a common identity versus free will, and how the barriers of a state-sanctioned identity are both disastrous and dangerous to humanity’s evolution.

From Salon • Oct. 30, 2025

"I thought that as a man of experience . . ." "Well, I ain't had that experience. I went North of my own free will."

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison