voluntary
vol·un·ta·ry/ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/adjective, noun
voluntary is spelled V-O-L-U-N-T-A-R-Y, 4 syllables: vol·un·ta·ry. The wrong spelling people search most is volentary: about 60 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 30 of all searches for the word. Voluntary is an adjective meaning “Done, given, or acting of one's own free will”.
How many letters and syllables are in voluntary?
| Letters | 9: V-O-L-U-N-T-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: vol·un·ta·ry |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, volentary, about 60 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell voluntary?
Voluntary is spelled V-O-L-U-N-T-A-R-Y. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 26 of the searches for voluntary in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is voluntary?
Voluntary appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce voluntary?
- UK /ˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/
- US /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/
- Canada /ˈvɒl.ən.t(ɛ)ɹi/
Voluntary has 4 syllables, split vol·un·ta·ry in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-voluntary.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of voluntary
- more voluntary comparative
- most voluntary superlative
- voluntaries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does voluntary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
September 10, 1828, Nathaniel William Taylor, Sermon delivered in the Chapel of Yale College That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
- 2
Done by design or intention; intentional.
If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
- 3
Working or done without payment.
Wikimedia is a voluntary service.
- 4
Endowed with the power of willing.
- 5
Of or relating to voluntarism.
a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church
noun
- 1
A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
- 2
A volunteer.
- 3
A supporter of voluntarism; a voluntarist.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteVoluntarily.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Voluntary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | volontaire , bénévole |
| German | freiwillig , ohne Bezahlung, ehrenamtlich |
| Portuguese | voluntário |
| Spanish | voluntario |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does voluntary come from?
From Middle English voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, of free will”), from voluntās (“will, choice, desire”), from volēns, present participle of volo (“to will”). Displaced native Old English selfwille (literally “self-willed”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).