Optional vs. Voluntary — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Optional and Voluntary
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Optional
Left to choice; not compulsory or automatic.
Voluntary
Done or undertaken of one's own free will
A voluntary decision to leave the job.
Optional
Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective.
On that beach clothing is entirely optional.
Voluntary
Acting or done willingly and without constraint or expectation of reward
A voluntary hostage.
Voluntary community work.
Optional
Something that is not compulsory, especially part of an academic course.
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Voluntary
Normally controlled by or subject to individual volition
Voluntary muscle contractions.
Optional
In various programming languages, a kind of variable that is assigned a specific data type but may or may not hold an actual value.
Voluntary
Capable of making choices; having the faculty of will
"This law of happiness ... resides in the exercise of the active capacities of a voluntary agent" (John Dewey).
Optional
Involving an option; depending on the exercise of an option; left to one's discretion or choice; allowed but not compulsory; as, optional studies; it is optional with you to go or stay.
If to the former the movement was not optional, it was the same that the latter chose when it was optional.
Original writs are either optional or peremptory.
Voluntary
Supported by contributions or charitable donations rather than by government appropriations
Voluntary hospitals.
Optional
Possible but not necessary; left to personal choice
Voluntary
Without legal obligation or consideration
A voluntary conveyance of property.
Voluntary
Done intentionally but without premeditation or deliberation, as when under the influence of an intense emotional reaction
Voluntary manslaughter.
Voluntary
A short piece of music, often improvised on a solo instrument, played as an introduction to a larger work.
Voluntary
A piece for solo organ, often improvised, played before, during, or after a religious service.
Voluntary
A volunteer.
Voluntary
Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
Voluntary
Done by design or intention; intentional.
If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
Voluntary
Working or done without payment.
Voluntary
Endowed with the power of willing.
Voluntary
Of or relating to voluntarism.
A voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church
Voluntary
(obsolete) Voluntarily.
Voluntary
(music) A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
Voluntary
A volunteer.
Voluntary
A supporter of voluntarism; a voluntarist.
Voluntary
Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice.
That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
Voluntary
Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one's self, or of itself; free.
Our voluntary service he requires.
She fell to lust a voluntary prey.
Voluntary
Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed; intended; not accidental; as, if a man kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
Voluntary
Of or pertaining to the will; subject to, or regulated by, the will; as, the voluntary motions of an animal, such as the movements of the leg or arm (in distinction from involuntary motions, such as the movements of the heart); the voluntary muscle fibers, which are the agents in voluntary motion.
Voluntary
Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent.
God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.
Voluntary
Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
Voluntary
Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.
Voluntary
One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer.
Voluntary
A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
Voluntary
One who advocates voluntaryism.
Voluntary
(military) a person who freely enlists for service
Voluntary
Composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a service or performance
Voluntary
Of your own free will or design; not forced or compelled;
Man is a voluntary agent
Participation was voluntary
Voluntary manslaughter
Voluntary generosity in times of disaster
Voluntary social workers
A voluntary confession
Voluntary
Controlled by individual volition;
Voluntary motions
Voluntary muscles
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