Definition of volition
1 : the power of choosing or determining : will
2 : an act of making a choice or decision; also : a choice or decision made
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Examples of volition in a Sentence
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological disorder marked by recurrent tics and vocalizations that are beyond the sufferer's volition or control.
left the church of her own volition, not because she was excommunicated
Recent Examples of volition from the Web
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Having accepted God through their own volition, God, in return, feels a unique love for them.
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Mr. Miller’s dogs enter weight-pull competitions, legal Iron Man-style bouts in which dogs haul weights a short distance on their own volition.
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Most protesters left Wednesday of their own volition, and others departed Thursday by crossing the frozen Cannonball River to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
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Any changes were made by the voters of their own volition, Evelyn Turner said in an interview.
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Some were due to coaches leaving of their volition: Franklin split for Penn State; Meyer and Spurrier resigned.
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And here’s hoping anyone who listens to Nickelback in Kensington will do so of his or own own volition, not because they’ve driven under the influence. ]]
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Volition: Online from 11/25-11/28, get The Holy Grail Kit for $99 ($167 value) and 40% off bestsellers.
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The car’s upper half seems full of volition and art for art’s sake, untroubled by scoops, spoilers or technical surfaces.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'volition'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Volition ultimately derives from the Latin verb velle, meaning "to will" or "to wish." (The adjective "voluntary" descends from the same source.) English speakers borrowed the term from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean "an act of choosing." Its earliest known English use appeared in Thomas Jackson's 1615 Commentaries upon the Apostle's Creed: "That such acts, again, as they appropriate to the will, and call volitions, are essentially and formally intellections, is most evident." The second sense of volition, meaning "the power to choose," had developed by the mid-18th century.
Origin and Etymology of volition
French, from Medieval Latin volition-, volitio, from Latin vol- (stem of velle to will, wish) + -ition-, -itio (as in Latin position-, positio position) — more at will
Other Psychology Terms
VOLITION Defined for English Language Learners
volition
playDefinition of volition for English Language Learners
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: the power to make your own choices or decisions
VOLITION Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
volition
playMedical Definition of volition
1: an act of making a choice or decision; also : a choice or decision made
2: the power of choosing or determining
Learn More about volition
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See words that rhyme with volition Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for volition Spanish Central: Translation of volition Nglish: Translation of volition for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of volition for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about volition
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