involuntary

/ɪnˌvɑlənˈtɛri/

/ɪnˈvɒləntɛri/

Involuntary describes a reflex or action done without conscious control or will — like a blink, a sneeze, a yawn, or “the giggles.”

If you volunteered to do it, it’s voluntary. If you didn’t volunteer, but you find yourself doing it anyway, it’s involuntary. This can go for the involuntary hiccups you wrestle with on your blind date, as well as the involuntary task you do at your manager’s insistence. Involuntary gets a lot of blame, but something that is involuntary is not necessarily bad: Breathing is involuntary, but you would probably do it anyway if given the choice.

Definitions of involuntary

1. adjective

   not subject to the control of the will
   “involuntary manslaughter”

   “involuntary servitude”

   “an involuntary shudder”

   “"It (becoming a hero) was involuntary. They sank my boat"- John F.Kennedy”

   synonyms: nonvoluntary, unvoluntary

   unconscious

   not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead

   driven, goaded

   compelled forcibly by an outside agency

   forced

   forced or compelled

   unconscious

   without conscious volition

   unwilled

   without deliberate volition

   unwilling

   in spite of contrary volition

   unwilling

   not disposed or inclined toward

   antonyms:

   voluntary

   of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled

   conscious

   knowing and perceiving; having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts

   intended

   resulting from one's intentions

   wilful, willful

   done by design

   freewill

   done of your own accord

   self-imposed

   voluntarily assumed or endured

   uncoerced, unforced, willing

   not brought about by coercion or force

   unpaid, volunteer

   without payment

   willing

   disposed or inclined toward
2. adjective

   controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control
   “involuntary muscles”

   “gave an involuntary start”

   synonyms:

   automatic, reflex, reflexive

   without volition or conscious control

   autonomic

   relating to or controlled by the autonomic nervous system

   vegetative

   relating to involuntary bodily functions

   antonyms:

   voluntary

   controlled by individual volition