Meanings
comparative more involuntarily · superlative most involuntarily
- In an involuntary manner; done without conscious thought.
Her leg twitched involuntarily.
3 more examples
He involuntarily overheard the conversation.
His eyes filled with tears, as he took up the glittering lengths. Their pale gold was lovely as ever; but there was something in the touch from which he involuntarily recoiled.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Letter”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 283Kennedy’s vocal rasp is not caused by an infection or respiratory condition. Instead, he has spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition in which the muscles that open and close his vocal cords spasm involuntarily, creating a strained or strangled quality to his speech.
2025 January 29, Sandee LaMotte, “A rare brain disorder robbed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of his strong speaking voice”, in CNN
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbagainst one's will or done without conscious thought
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From involuntary + -ly or in- + voluntarily.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀκουσίως
- ἀκουσίως (akousíōs)in an involuntary manner
Catalan involuntàriament
- involuntàriamentin an involuntary manner
Dutch onwillekeurig
- onwillekeurigin an involuntary manner
Esperanto nevole
- nevolein an involuntary manner
Finnish vastoin tahtoaan, vastentahtoisesti
- vastoin tahtoaanin an involuntary manner
- vastentahtoisestiin an involuntary manner
- tahattomastiin an involuntary manner
- tahtomattaanin an involuntary manner
French involontairement, sans le faire exprès
- involontairementin an involuntary manner
- sans le faire exprèsin an involuntary manner
German unwillkürlich, unabsichtlich
- unwillkürlichin an involuntary manner
- unabsichtlichin an involuntary manner
Hungarian önkéntelenül, akaratlanul
- önkéntelenülin an involuntary manner
- akaratlanulin an involuntary manner
Italian involontariamente
- involontariamentein an involuntary manner
Polish niechcący, mimowolnie
- niechcącyin an involuntary manner
- mimowolniein an involuntary manner
- machinalniein an involuntary manner
Portuguese involuntariamente
- involuntariamentein an involuntary manner
Romanian involuntar
- involuntarin an involuntary manner
Russian нево́льно
- нево́льно (nevólʹno)in an involuntary manner
Spanish involuntariamente
- involuntariamentein an involuntary manner
Cite this entry
involuntarily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntarily
“involuntarily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntarily. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “involuntarily,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntarily.
Source: involuntarily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.