Involuntary
adjective
Not done by choice or control, but happening without your intent.
Involuntary muscle movements can happen when you are scared or cold.
Often appears as...
- involuntary action
- involuntary reaction
adjective
In law, not resulting from a purposeful action, especially in reference to the commission of a crime.
An involuntary manslaughter charge means the person didn't mean to cause the death.
Often appears as...
- involuntary manslaughter
- involuntary admission
Usage tips
Technical
adjective
In medicine, describing a physical reaction that is not controlled by the conscious mind.
The doctor checked his involuntary reflexes by tapping his knee with a small hammer.
Often appears as...
- involuntary reflexes
- involuntary response
Usage tips
Technical
adjective
Not done by choice or control, but happening without your intent.
Involuntary muscle movements can happen when you are scared or cold.
Often appears as...
- involuntary action
- involuntary reaction
adjective
In law, not resulting from a purposeful action, especially in reference to the commission of a crime.
An involuntary manslaughter charge means the person didn't mean to cause the death.
Often appears as...
- involuntary manslaughter
- involuntary admission
Usage tips
Technical
adjective
In medicine, describing a physical reaction that is not controlled by the conscious mind.
The doctor checked his involuntary reflexes by tapping his knee with a small hammer.
Often appears as...
- involuntary reflexes
- involuntary response
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Unintended Actions
Refers to actions that occur automatically, without any conscious decision or control.
His involuntary laughter during the serious play was quite embarrassing.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Reactions
Often related to bodily functions that don't require active thinking, like blinking or breathing.
Shivering is an involuntary action that helps your body stay warm.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Responses
Can describe emotions or expressions that you can't hide because they happen naturally.
She felt an involuntary smile spread across her face when she saw the puppy.
Pro Tip 1/3Unintended Actions
Refers to actions that occur automatically, without any conscious decision or control.
His involuntary laughter during the serious play was quite embarrassing.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Reactions
Often related to bodily functions that don't require active thinking, like blinking or breathing.
Shivering is an involuntary action that helps your body stay warm.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Responses
Can describe emotions or expressions that you can't hide because they happen naturally.
She felt an involuntary smile spread across her face when she saw the puppy.
Pro Tip 1/3Unintended Actions
Refers to actions that occur automatically, without any conscious decision or control.
His involuntary laughter during the serious play was quite embarrassing.
Pro Tip 2/3Physical Reactions
Often related to bodily functions that don't require active thinking, like blinking or breathing.
Shivering is an involuntary action that helps your body stay warm.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Responses
Can describe emotions or expressions that you can't hide because they happen naturally.
She felt an involuntary smile spread across her face when she saw the puppy.
Compare with
automaticinborninherentinstinctiveintentionalreflexivespontaneousunconscious
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Video examples
Why we laugh PIPE Sophie...
Now, something I've got very interested in is different kinds of laughter, and we have some neurobiological evidence about how human beings vocalize that suggests there might be two kinds of laughs that we have. So it seems possible that the neurobiology for helpless, involuntary laughter,
Video examples
How to turn off work...
Because those kinds of thinking do not elicit emotional distress and, more importantly, they're in our control. We can decide whether to respond to an email or leave it till morning, or whether we want to brainstorm about work projects that excite us. But ruminations are involuntary.
Video examples
Ted Danson Tries to Read...
- There is one place where it's rewarded, the poker table. A poker player can win if they have the best hand, or if they convince the other players that they do. But even when someone is bluffing, their body language may give them away. The smallest involuntary movements in our face
Video examples
The surprising reasons...
Recognizing this ancient, involuntary form of self-defense has significant implications when trying to understand why some victims don’t flee or fight in the face of danger. So, studying TI in non-human animals not only helps us better understand some odd behaviors,
Video examples
The urgent need for...
enslaving people who are black and we never address that that legacy we have in the 13th amendment language that prohibits involuntary servitude in forced labor we never talked about the narrative of racial differences because of that I don't believe that slavery
Video examples
A tale of mental illness...
my math that I'd never heard before half grown half scream barely human and pure terror then the sound came again forced from somewhere deep inside my belly and scraping my throat raw this incident resulted in my involuntary hospitalization one of the reasons the
Video examples
Why do we sleep? PIPE...
because that's what your brain is craving. One of the things that the brain does is indulge in micro-sleeps, this involuntary falling asleep, and you have essentially no control over it. Now, micro-sleeps can be sort of somewhat embarrassing,
Video examples
How isolation fuels...
Tourette's is a neurological disorder characterized by stereotyped movements I perform against my will, called tics. Now, tics are technically involuntary, in the sense that they occur without any conscious attention or intention on my part.
Video examples
A tale of mental illness...
half groan, half scream, barely human and pure terror. Then the sound came again, forced from somewhere deep inside my belly and scraping my throat raw." This incident resulted in my involuntary hospitalization.
Video examples
The Secret to Mastering...
A collective involuntary lifequake is a natural disaster or a recession. What's unique about this moment in time? The entire planet for the first time in a century
Video examples
Why we laugh PIPE Sophie...
Now, something I've got very interested in is different kinds of laughter, and we have some neurobiological evidence about how human beings vocalize that suggests there might be two kinds of laughs that we have. So it seems possible that the neurobiology for helpless, involuntary laughter,
Video examples
How to turn off work...
Because those kinds of thinking do not elicit emotional distress and, more importantly, they're in our control. We can decide whether to respond to an email or leave it till morning, or whether we want to brainstorm about work projects that excite us. But ruminations are involuntary.
Video examples
Ted Danson Tries to Read...
- There is one place where it's rewarded, the poker table. A poker player can win if they have the best hand, or if they convince the other players that they do. But even when someone is bluffing, their body language may give them away. The smallest involuntary movements in our face
Video examples
The surprising reasons...
Recognizing this ancient, involuntary form of self-defense has significant implications when trying to understand why some victims don’t flee or fight in the face of danger. So, studying TI in non-human animals not only helps us better understand some odd behaviors,
Video examples
The urgent need for...
enslaving people who are black and we never address that that legacy we have in the 13th amendment language that prohibits involuntary servitude in forced labor we never talked about the narrative of racial differences because of that I don't believe that slavery
Video examples
A tale of mental illness...
my math that I'd never heard before half grown half scream barely human and pure terror then the sound came again forced from somewhere deep inside my belly and scraping my throat raw this incident resulted in my involuntary hospitalization one of the reasons the
Video examples
Why do we sleep? PIPE...
because that's what your brain is craving. One of the things that the brain does is indulge in micro-sleeps, this involuntary falling asleep, and you have essentially no control over it. Now, micro-sleeps can be sort of somewhat embarrassing,
Video examples
How isolation fuels...
Tourette's is a neurological disorder characterized by stereotyped movements I perform against my will, called tics. Now, tics are technically involuntary, in the sense that they occur without any conscious attention or intention on my part.
Video examples
A tale of mental illness...
half groan, half scream, barely human and pure terror. Then the sound came again, forced from somewhere deep inside my belly and scraping my throat raw." This incident resulted in my involuntary hospitalization.
Video examples
The Secret to Mastering...
A collective involuntary lifequake is a natural disaster or a recession. What's unique about this moment in time? The entire planet for the first time in a century
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jeff Greenfield
American Journalist
This is part of the involuntary bargain we make with the world just by being alive. We get to experiences the splendor of nature, the beauty of art, the balm of love and the sheer joy of existence, always with the knowledge that illness, injury, natural disaster, or pure evil can end it in an instant for ourselves or someone we love.
Quote examples
W. H. Auden
English Poet
Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come in under the radar, below people's defenses.
Quote examples
Kim Fields
American Actress
I recognize the unknowing, involuntary effect that 'Facts of Life' had and continues to have on several generations of people.
Quote examples
Blaise Pascal
French Philosopher
Desire and force between them are responsible for all our actions; desire causes our voluntary acts, force our involuntary.
Quote examples
Mary Oliver
American Poet
I think one thing is that prayer has become more useful, interesting, fruitful, and... almost involuntary in my life.
Quote examples
Kate Millett
American Activist
The involuntary character of psychiatric treatment is at odds with the spirit and ethics of medicine itself.
Quote examples
Sarah Bernhardt
French Actress
The theatre is the involuntary reflex of the ideas of the crowd.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
All emotion is involuntary when genuine.
Quote examples
Edward Young
English Poet
Wonder is involuntary praise.
Quote examples
Jeff Greenfield
American Journalist
This is part of the involuntary bargain we make with the world just by being alive. We get to experiences the splendor of nature, the beauty of art, the balm of love and the sheer joy of existence, always with the knowledge that illness, injury, natural disaster, or pure evil can end it in an instant for ourselves or someone we love.
Quote examples
W. H. Auden
English Poet
Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come in under the radar, below people's defenses.
Quote examples
Kim Fields
American Actress
I recognize the unknowing, involuntary effect that 'Facts of Life' had and continues to have on several generations of people.
Quote examples
Blaise Pascal
French Philosopher
Desire and force between them are responsible for all our actions; desire causes our voluntary acts, force our involuntary.
Quote examples
Mary Oliver
American Poet
I think one thing is that prayer has become more useful, interesting, fruitful, and... almost involuntary in my life.
Quote examples
Kate Millett
American Activist
The involuntary character of psychiatric treatment is at odds with the spirit and ethics of medicine itself.
Quote examples
Sarah Bernhardt
French Actress
The theatre is the involuntary reflex of the ideas of the crowd.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
All emotion is involuntary when genuine.
Quote examples
Edward Young
English Poet
Wonder is involuntary praise.
Example 1 of 10
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