volition

[voh-lish-uhn, vuh-]

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.

volition

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of volition¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of volition¹

C17: from Medieval Latin volitiō, from Latin vol- as in volō I will, present stem of velle to wish

Synonym Study

See will ².

Example Sentences

McCain left her job as co-host of “The View” of her own volition after a contentious stint on the daytime talk show.

From Salon

In that case the BBC understands a doctor did return to work under their own volition.

From BBC

Like his character, washed-up Formula One racer Sonny Hayes, Pitt is returning to the grandest version of this race by his own volition, with his own set of rules.

From Salon

His lawyer had argued that he was betrayed by his deputies who had acted on their own volition and hid their wrongdoing from him.

From BBC

Spooky Meter: 4/5 This is the only location on our list where the reporter experienced potentially paranormal activity, when a martini glass slid across the table seemingly of its own volition.

From Los Angeles Times