Meanings
comparative more involuntary · superlative most involuntary
- Without intention; unintentional.
1 more example
In 2003, Christopher Below was in an interrogation room at the Evansville Police Department when he admitted to Detective Scott Thomas of the Evansville Police Department that he had shot Kathern Fetzer in his apartment and disposed of the body in a commercial trash bin. Her remains were never recovered, and Below pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
2026 August 6, Nicholas Muhoro, “An Ohio Teen Vanished During a One-Mile Drive in 1994. Her Locked Car Was Found Hours Later”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2026Synonyms: inadvertent
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWithout intention; unintentional.
adjectiveNot voluntary or willing; contrary or opposed to explicit will or desire; unwilling.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot subject to the control of the will
adjectivecontrolled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Latinin-
- Middle Englishin-
- Englishin-
- Middle Englishvoluntarie
- Englishvoluntary
- Englishinvoluntary
From in- + voluntary, from Late Latin involontarius, from in + volontarius.
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀκούιος, ἀκούιος
- ἀκούιος (akoúios)without intention; unintentional
- ἀκούιος (akoúios)not voluntary or willing
Bulgarian нево́лен, недоброво́лен
- нево́лен (nevólen)without intention; unintentional
- недоброво́лен (nedobrovólen)not voluntary or willing
- принуди́телен (prinudítelen)not voluntary or willing
Catalan involuntari, involuntari
- involuntariwithout intention; unintentional
- involuntarinot voluntary or willing
Chinese Cantonese 唔小心
- 唔小心without intention; unintentional
Chinese Mandarin 不小心, 非自願 /非自愿
- 不小心without intention; unintentional
- 非自願 /非自愿not voluntary or willing
Dutch niet intentioneel, onwillekeurig
- niet intentioneelwithout intention; unintentional
- onwillekeurignot voluntary or willing
Esperanto nevola, nevola
- nevolawithout intention; unintentional
- nevolanot voluntary or willing
Finnish tahaton, vahinko-
- tahatonwithout intention; unintentional
- vahinko-without intention; unintentional
- vastentahtoinennot voluntary or willing
- tahatonnot voluntary or willing
French involontaire
- involontairewithout intention; unintentional
German unabsichtlich, unwillkürlich
- unabsichtlichwithout intention; unintentional
- unwillkürlichwithout intention; unintentional
- ungewolltwithout intention; unintentional
- unfreiwillignot voluntary or willing
- ohne es zu wollennot voluntary or willing
Greek ακούσιος, αθέλητος
- ακούσιος (akoúsios)without intention; unintentional
- αθέλητος (athélitos)without intention; unintentional
- ακούσιος (akoúsios)not voluntary or willing
- αθέλητος (athélitos)not voluntary or willing
Hungarian akaratlan, önkéntelen
- akaratlanwithout intention; unintentional
- önkéntelenwithout intention; unintentional
- kényszerűnot voluntary or willing
Italian involontario
- involontariowithout intention; unintentional
Japanese 不本意
- 不本意 (fuhon'i)not voluntary or willing
Norwegian Bokmål ufrivillig
- ufrivilligwithout intention; unintentional
Polish mimowolny, mimowolny
- mimowolnywithout intention; unintentional
- mimowolnynot voluntary or willing
Portuguese involuntário, involuntário
- involuntáriowithout intention; unintentional
- involuntárionot voluntary or willing
Romanian involuntar
- involuntarwithout intention; unintentional
Russian нево́льный, непроизво́льный
- нево́льный (nevólʹnyj)without intention; unintentional
- непроизво́льный (neproizvólʹnyj)without intention; unintentional
- нево́льный (nevólʹnyj)not voluntary or willing
- недоброво́льный (nedobrovólʹnyj)not voluntary or willing
- принуди́тельный (prinudítelʹnyj)not voluntary or willing
Spanish involuntario, involuntario
- involuntariowithout intention; unintentional
- involuntarionot voluntary or willing
Ukrainian мимові́льний, неві́льний
- мимові́льний (mymovílʹnyj)without intention; unintentional
- неві́льний (nevílʹnyj)without intention; unintentional
Cite this entry
involuntary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntary
“involuntary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntary. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “involuntary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/involuntary.
Source: involuntary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.