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”; will ¹ ) + -itiōn- -ition

Example Sentences

This is the stuff that usually ends in short order with a resignation, either of the member’s own volition or at the speaker’s insistence.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

Whether a person with a major psychiatric disorder can muster the necessary volition to support such an irreversible decision, and whether doctors can reliably determine that a patient’s condition is irremediable, are major question marks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

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 • Jun. 30, 2025

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 • Dec. 16, 2024

For it was as though I were looking at my own legs for the first time—independent objects that could of their own volition lead me to safety or danger.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison