involuntary
adjective
, -ˌte-rē\
Definition of involuntary
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Other Words from involuntary
, -ˈte-rə- \
adverb
, -ˌte-rē- \
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for involuntary
Synonyms
coerced, forced, unintended, unintentional, unwilling, will-less
Antonyms
deliberate, freewill, intentional, uncoerced, unforced, voluntary, willful (or wilful), willing
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Examples of involuntary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Right now, if someone in the state is committed to involuntary treatment, their name will be on the list of people who cannot purchase a gun. — Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, "Rosario: On mental illness, dissing prosecutors and some bandwagon Twins fans …," 17 Aug. 2019 The number of involuntary part-time workers, who preferred full-time employment, declined by 363,000 in July to 4 million. — Olivera Perkins, cleveland.com, "Ohio unemployment rate holds at 4% in July, state gained 4,500 jobs," 16 Aug. 2019 The rider was investigated for involuntary homicide but was ultimately only fined because of the lack of regulations. — Angela Charlton, chicagotribune.com, "Love Chicago’s scooters? Loathe them? Here’s how major European cities are dealing with them.," 15 Aug. 2019 The rider was investigated for involuntary homicide but was ultimately only fined because of the lack of regulations. — Washington Post, "Fast, not so furious? Europe wrestles with electric scooters," 13 Aug. 2019 For example, animals with Parkinson’s disease can be cured of their involuntary tremors by shining light on brain cells that have been specially engineered making them light-sensitive. — Sreekanth Chalasani, The Conversation, "The new field of sonogenetics uses sound waves to control the behavior of brain cells," 9 Aug. 2019 In many past mass shootings psychiatrists made the correct diagnosis of the future shooter’s potentially dangerous psychosis, requiring involuntary commitment and inpatient treatment some time before the tragedies took place. — WSJ, "A Parkland, Fla., Father’s Lonely Crusade," 18 Jan. 2019 At other points, Mueller's halting manner seemed involuntary. — Marc Fisher, Anchorage Daily News, "ANALYSIS: On Mueller’s final day on the national stage, a halting, faltering performance," 25 July 2019 Still, during the city’s mayoral election, the CBA movement became a political issue, with a number of candidates citing their support for an ordinance that would protect the current neighborhood from gentrification and involuntary displacement. — Lolly Bowean, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago aldermen to introduce plan aimed at protecting affordable housing around planned Obama Presidential Center site," 23 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'involuntary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for involuntary
involuntary
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of involuntary
See the full definition for involuntary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
involuntary
adjective
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Kids Definition of involuntary
involuntary
adjective
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Medical Definition of involuntary
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