volition
noun
Did you know?
When you do something of your own volition, you do it voluntarily, which makes sense—both volition and voluntary ultimately come from the Latin velle, meaning “to wish” or “to will.” English speakers borrowed volition from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean “an act of choosing,” a meaning Herman Melville employed in Moby-Dick (1851): “Almost simultaneously, with a mighty volition of ungraduated, instantaneous swiftness, the White Whale darted through the weltering sea.” By then, however, the word had also developed an additional meaning, “the power to choose,” which is now more common.
Examples of volition in a Sentence
Manny Navarro, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
The Niners would have been well-served to cut Samuel on their own volition following a season where the receiver caught only 51 of 81 targets and rushed for a paltry 3.2 yards per carry, with a public complaint about not getting the ball sprinkled in for good measure.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025
During a trip to Serbia, Marocco on his own volition invited the country’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, to visit Srebrenica, where more than 8,000 Muslims were killed during the Bosnian genocide, according to two officials familiar with the incident.
—Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 16 Feb. 2025
Yet central to these changes is the role of volition – human agency.
—Russell N Myers, Twin Cities, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for volition
Cite this Entry
“Volition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/volition. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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