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involuntary

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
in·vol·un·tar·y  (n-vln-tr)
adj.
1. Acting or done without or against one's will: an involuntary participant in what turned out to be an argument.
2. Not subject to control of the volition: gave an involuntary start. See Synonyms at spontaneous.

in·volun·tari·ly (-târ-l) adv.
in·volun·tari·ness n.

involuntary
Adjective
1. carried out without one's conscious wishes; unintentional
2. Physiol (esp. of a movement or muscle) performed or acting without conscious control
involuntarily adv

involuntary  (n-vln-tr)
Not under conscious control. Most of the biological processes in animals that are vital to life, such as contraction of the heart, blood flow, breathing, and digestion, are involuntary and controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.involuntaryinvoluntary - 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
unconscious - not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead; "lay unconscious on the floor"
unwilling - not disposed or inclined toward; "an unwilling assistant"; "unwilling to face facts"
voluntary - of your own free will or design; done by choice; 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"
2.involuntary - controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control; "involuntary muscles"; "gave an involuntary start"
physiology - the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms
voluntary - controlled by individual volition; "voluntary motions"; "voluntary muscles"

involuntary
Translations
Spanish involuntary [ɪnˈvɔləntrɪ] adjinvoluntario
French involuntary [ɪnˈvɔləntrɪ] adjinvolontaire
German involuntary [ɪnˈvɔləntrɪ] adjunbeabsichtigt;
(reflex) → unwillkürlich

Italian involuntary [ɪnˈvɔləntrɪ] adjinvolontario/a

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I am full of gratitude towards you--I am indeed full for all that you have done for me, I am most sensible of your goodness; but, to think that I should be forced to see that, in spite of your own troubles (of which I have been the involuntary cause), you live for me alone--you live but for MY joys and MY sorrows and MY affection
Many are the enactments made at different times in the different States of Flatland, in order to minimize this peril; and in the Southern and less temperate climates where the force of gravitation is greater, and human beings more liable to casual and involuntary motions, the Laws concerning Women are naturally much more stringent.
And even he could not repress a start and an involuntary bristling of hair along his back when she suddenly leaped, without warning, straight up in the air, at the same time emitting a long and most terrible squall.
 
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