- the act of exercising the will: of one's own volition
- the faculty or capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention; the will
- the resulting choice or resolution
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
vo•li•tion /voʊˈlɪʃən, və-/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [uncountable]
- the act of willing, choosing, or deciding to do something:She left of her own volition.
vo•li•tion
(vō lish′ən, və-),USA pronunciation n.
vo•li′tion•al, vo•li•tion•ar•y
(vō lish′ə ner′ē),USA pronunciation adj.
vo•li′tion•al•ly, adv.
- the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing:She left of her own volition.
- a choice or decision made by the will.
- the power of willing;
will.
- Medieval Latin volitiōn- (stem of volitiō), equivalent. to vol- (variant stem of velle to want, wish; see will1) + -itiōn- -ition
- 1605–15
- 1. discretion, choice. See will 2.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
volition /vəˈlɪʃən/ n
'volition' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
act
- will
- abulia
- animate
- automatic
- automatism
- coerce
- conation
- consciousness
- inanimate
- involuntary
- proprio motu
- unconscious
- velleity
- volitive