voluntarism

vo·lun·ta·ri·sm
V4O1L1U1N1T1A1R1I1S1M3
UK/ˈvɒ.lən.t(ə.)ɹɪ.zəm/US/ˈvɑ.lən.t(ə.)ɹɪ.zəm/

noun

A reliance on volunteers to support an institution or achieve an end; volunteerism.

OriginEnglish voluntary ← Middle English voluntarie →
UncommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounvoluntarism (countable and uncountable, plural voluntarisms)

plural voluntarisms

  1. UScountableuncountableA reliance on volunteers to support an institution or achieve an end; volunteerism.
  2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesA doctrine that assigns the most dominant position to the will rather than the intellect.
  3. countableuncountablegovernmentThe political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishvoluntarie
  2. Englishvoluntary
  3. Englishvoluntarism

From voluntary + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish woluntaryzm
  • woluntaryzmphilosophy
Cite this entry
APA

voluntarism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluntarism

MLA

“voluntarism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluntarism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “voluntarism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluntarism.

Source: voluntarism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.