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

See Examples For:

free will

The actor secured her first Emmy for her turn as Carol Sturka, a pessimistic romantasy author who finds herself as one of the last people with free will in Apple TV’s sci-fi drama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Are you entering into this of your own free will — without any coercion?

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

I am interested in questions such as how the European Enlightenment began and when the idea of free will first emerged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

In a song where vanity means being a “slave to makeup,” appearing willfully feminine might as well mean handing over your free will.

From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026

The ghosts had no free will, but what about Feral and Ruby and Sparrow?

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor