voluntarism

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈvɑlən.tɛˌrɪzəm/ UK /ˈvɒlən.tə.rɪzəm/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the doctrine that the will is the fundamental principle of the individual or the universe

His ethics rested on a voluntarism that placed free choice above rational necessity.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the doctrine that the will... volitionism

Opposites

intellectualism determinism

Word family

Derived forms voluntaristvoluntaristic

Related forms voluntary volition will

Etymology

A 19th-century philosophical coinage from Latin voluntarius ('willing, voluntary'), from voluntas ('will'), from velle ('to will'), plus -ism.

voluntarius Latin voluntas Latin velle Latin

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Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# voluntarism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈvɑlən.tɛˌrɪzəm
**IPA (UK):** ˈvɒlən.tə.rɪzəm

## Meanings
1. the doctrine that the will is the fundamental principle of the individual or the universe

## Examples
- His ethics rested on a voluntarism that placed free choice above rational necessity.

## Synonyms
- volitionism

## Antonyms
- intellectualism
- determinism

## Derived Forms
- voluntarist
- voluntaristic

## Related Forms
- voluntary
- volition
- will

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: voluntarius
- Root: voluntas
- Root: velle

## Etymology
A 19th-century philosophical coinage from Latin voluntarius ('willing, voluntary'), from voluntas ('will'), from velle ('to will'), plus -ism.

## AI Etymology
Voluntarism is a 19th-century philosophical coinage from Latin voluntarius ('willing, voluntary'), from voluntas ('will'), from velle ('to will'), plus -ism. In current use it is a noun meaning "the doctrine that the will is the fundamental principle of the individual or the universe". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Latin voluntarius, Latin voluntas, and Latin velle. Related English forms include voluntary, volition, and will. Derived forms include voluntarist and voluntaristic. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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voluntarism

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