volition

American  

[voh-lish-uhn, vuh-] / voʊˈlɪʃ ən, və- /

noun

1. the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing.

   She left of her own volition.

   Synonyms:

   choice, discretion

2. a choice or decision made by the will.

3. the power of willing; will.

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volition British  

/ vəˈlɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of exercising the will

   of one's own volition

2. the faculty or capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention; the will

3. the resulting choice or resolution

4. philosophy an act of will as distinguished from the physical movement it intends to bring about

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Related Words

See will ².

Other Word Forms

• nonvolition
  noun
• supervolition
  noun
• volitional
  adjective
• volitional;
  adjective
• volitionally
  adverb
• volitionary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of volition

First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin volitiōn- (stem of volitiō ), equivalent to vol- (variant stem of velle “to want, wish”; see will ¹) + -itiōn- -ition

Explanation

Doing something willingly or voluntarily is doing it of your own volition. You might not always enjoy the books your teacher assigns, but you love the historical novels you pick up of your own volition. Volition comes from Latin and French roots meaning "wish" or "will." Legal speech and writing often include the word volition, as a way to affirm that a person involved in a crime acted "on their own volition," or consented to be part of the crime. Maybe criminals don't wish to go to jail, but their acts often show their volition to break the law.

Example Sentences

Lucas Haines, owner of Volition Brewing and president of the North Bend Downtown Foundation, said he doesn’t think there’s an art scene yet, but one’s starting to emerge with newcomers to the area.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2022

Volition Media Partners is the only production company on the movie, the person said.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2021

Developer Volition has announced that the newest title, which is just called Saints Row, is scheduled to be released on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, and PC on February 25th, 2022.

From The Verge • Aug. 25, 2021

Nick Pinkston, CEO of Volition, a San Francisco company that makes software used by robotics engineers to automate factories, said smaller firms lack the cash to take risks on new robots.

From Reuters • Aug. 2, 2021

Volition is always as the greatest apparent good, or as the sense of the most pleasant or agreeable.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip