adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Without intention; unintentional.
2. 2
   Not voluntary or willing; contrary or opposed to explicit will or desire; unwilling.

   "He found himself the involuntary witness in the trial."

Adjective

1. 1
   not subject to the control of the will wordnet
2. 2
   controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

forcedreflexiveunconsciousunwilledunwillingat odds

Antonyms

All antonyms

electiveoptionalvoluntary

Example

More examples

"Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary."

Etymology

From in- + voluntary, from Late Latin involontarius, from in + volontarius.

Related phrases

involuntary manslaughterinvoluntary movementinvoluntary muscleinvoluntary parkinvoluntary sculpture

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.