volitional

/vəˈlɪʃənəl/

//vəˈlɪʃənəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"volitional" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“volitional” is uncommon English (frequency #98,871 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,871
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the volition or will.

Corpus desk

Index EN-volitional · volitional · English

volitional · rank #98,871 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,871
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH VPD

Nearest frequency peer: VPD (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “volitional”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “volitional” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for volitional
PropertyValue
Headwordvolitional
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/vəˈlɪʃənəl/
Letters10
Frequency rank#98,871
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “volitional” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).volitionalfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “VPD” (#98,872), “vocoder” (#98,869), “Villars” (#98,866). Among 969 “V” headwords, “volitional” is #98,871. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

volitional is uncommon English at frequency #98,871 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /vəˈlɪʃənəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for volitional in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From volition + -al. The correct English form is volitional, spelled V-O-L-I-T-I-O-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the volition or will.
  2. 2
    Done by conscious, personal choice; not based on external principles; not accidental.
  3. 3
    Expressing intention, hortation, supposition, or inclusive invitation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how volitional appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Little by little the whole subject population of the world was fitted with the instruments of volitional control. The government was now practically omnipotent.
  2. Stern and Karl Bühler noticed independently that a child’s first “No” has a volitional meaning and that the significance as a simple denial of fact appears several months afterwards.

Etymology

From volition + -al.

Synonyms

deliberatevoluntaryintentional

This word in other languages

volitivo(Español)willentlich(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "volitional"?
"volitional" is spelled V-O-L-I-T-I-O-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /vəˈlɪʃənəl/.
What does "volitional" mean?
As an adjective, "volitional" means: Of or relating to the volition or will.
How do you pronounce "volitional"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "volitional" is /vəˈlɪʃənəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "volitional"?
From volition + -al. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "volitional", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

urogenital#98,853unshielded#98,846Titchmarsh#98,805thiopental#98,798

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list