volition
Americannoun
-
the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing.
She left of her own volition.
- Synonyms:
- choice, discretion
-
a choice or decision made by the will.
-
the power of willing; will.
noun
-
the act of exercising the will
of one's own volition
-
the faculty or capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention; the will
-
the resulting choice or resolution
-
philosophy an act of will as distinguished from the physical movement it intends to bring about
Related Words
See will 2.
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing volition
To Kill a Mockingbird
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The Things They Carried
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Then the iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
