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.
Synonyms
Examples of volition in a Sentence
Daisy Jones, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2024
The Hong Kong firm eventually sold the two buildings to Vornado Realty Trust, a big New York real-estate outfit, and Trump, through no volition of his own, ended up with a minority stake in a Vornado-run partnership that became one of his most valuable assets.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Love, war, sickness, health, money, growth, volition, death.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 30 Sep. 2024
Americans who didn’t leave stayed of their own volition.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for volition 
Dictionary Entries Near volition
Cite this Entry
“Volition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/volition. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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volition
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