involuntary

involuntary

adjective

Definition of INVOLUNTARY

1

not made or done willingly or by choice <my long stays on the sidelines during our football games were strictly involuntary>

Synonyms coerced, forced, unintended, unintentional, unwilling, will-less

Related Words accidental, unplanned, unpremeditated; automatic, impulsive, instinctive, spontaneous, unprompted; inadvertent, unconscious, unknowing, unwitting

Near Antonyms advised, conscious, considered, knowing, planned, premeditated, premeditative, prepense, purposeful; volitional; self-imposed, self-inflicted

Antonyms deliberate, freewill, intentional, uncoerced, unforced, voluntary, willful (or wilful), willing

2

done instantly and without conscious thought or decision <breathing is involuntary>

Synonyms instinctive, instinctual, involuntary, knee-jerk, mechanic, mechanical, robotic, spontaneous

Related Words conditioned, natural, Pavlovian, reactive, reflex, simple, subliminal, unconscious, unforced, visceral; blind, inadvertent, unintended, unintentional, unwilling, unwitting; abrupt, quick, ready, sudden; ad-lib, extemporaneous, extempore, impromptu, improvised, offhand, offhanded, off-the-cuff, snap, spur-of-the-moment, unconsidered, unplanned, unpremeditated, unprepared, unprompted, unreasoned, unrehearsed, unstudied; casual, chance, chancy, haphazard, hasty, hit-or-miss, impetuous, impulsive, mindless, random, rash

Near Antonyms calculated, conscious, cultivated, deliberate, designed, intended, intentional, predetermined, prepared, projected, refined, rehearsed, volitional, voluntary, willed, willful (or wilful); advised, aforethought, careful, considered, foresighted, forethoughtful, measured, meticulous, reasoned, studied, thoughtful

Antonyms nonmechanical

3

forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law <the abolition of involuntary servitude by civilized society>

Synonyms compulsory, forced, imperative, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, peremptory, required

Related Words all-important, essential, indispensable, needed, requisite; insistent, persistent, pressing, urgent; demanded, enforced; coercive

Near Antonyms chosen, discretionary; dispensable, unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted; inconsequential, insignificant, nonessential, unimportant

Antonyms elective, optional, voluntary