The meaning of Involuntary

adjective

(of a device or process) working by itself with little or no direct human control.

Usage examples:

An automatic kettle that switches itself off when it boils

noun

A gun that continues firing until the ammunition is exhausted or the pressure on the trigger is released.

Usage examples:

The rapid fire of automatics

verb

Persuade (an unwilling person) to do something by using force or threats.

Usage examples:

He was coerced into giving evidence

verb

Past simple and past participle of coerce

Usage examples:

The court heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession.

adjective

Relating to or using force or threats.

Usage examples:

Coercive measures

adjective

Using force to persuade people to do things that they are unwilling to do

Usage examples:

The president relied on the coercive powers of the military., coercive measures/tactics

verb

Force or oblige (someone) to do something.

Usage examples:

A sense of duty compelled harry to answer her questions

adjective

Having to do something, because you are forced to or feel it is necessary

Usage examples:

[ + to infinitive ] he felt compelled to report the incident.

adjective

Required by law or a rule; obligatory.

Usage examples:

Compulsory military service

adjective

(of something) that must be done; necessary by law or a rule

Usage examples:

Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16.

adjective

If something is compulsory, you must do it because of a law or rule

Usage examples:

Compulsory (for sb) (to do sth) it isn't compulsory for employers to offer staff private healthcare…

adjective

Appearing forced or overly controlled.

Usage examples:

He was acting in a constrained manner

verb

Compel or force (someone) to follow a particular course of action.

Usage examples:

Children are constrained to work in the way the book dictates

verb

Ask authoritatively or brusquely.

Usage examples:

‘where is she?’ he demanded

noun

An insistent and peremptory request, made as of right.

Usage examples:

A series of demands for far-reaching reforms

verb

Past simple and past participle of demand

Usage examples:

I demanded an explanation., the union is demanding a seven percent pay rise this year., he has alwa…

verb

Demand and obtain (something) from someone.

Usage examples:

He exacted promises that another watergate would never be allowed to happen

adjective

Not approximated in any way; precise.

Usage examples:

The exact details were still being worked out

verb

Past simple and past participle of exact

Usage examples:

To exact revenge on someone, the blackmailers exacted a total of $100,000 from their victims., hear…

adjective

Obtained or imposed by coercion or physical power.

Usage examples:

There was no sign of a forced entry

verb

Make a way through or into by physical strength; break open by force.

Usage examples:

The back door of the bank was forced

adjective

Involving physical, often violent, strength or power

Usage examples:

There were no obvious signs of forced entry into the house., the plane made a forced landing in den…

verb

Force (an unwelcome decision or ruling) on someone.

Usage examples:

The decision was theirs and was not imposed on them by others

verb

Past simple and past participle of impose

Usage examples:

Very high taxes have recently been imposed on cigarettes., judges are imposing increasingly heavy f…

adjective

Acting or done without forethought.

Usage examples:

They'd married as impulsive teenagers

adjective

Acting or done suddenly without any planning or consideration of the results

Usage examples:

She’s an impulsive shopper and often buys things she doesn’t need.

adjective

Not resulting from or achieved through deliberate planning.

Usage examples:

An inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment

adjective

Done or happening unintentionally

Usage examples:

An inadvertent mistake, i inadvertently gave her change for $20, but she’d only given me $10.

adjective

Relating to or prompted by instinct; done without conscious thought.

Usage examples:

An instinctive distaste for conflict

Unthinking

adjective

(of behavior or actions) not thought about, planned, or learned

Usage examples:

My instinctive reaction was to walk away to avoid an argument., she instinctively understood how i …

adjective

Relating to or denoting an innate, typically fixed pattern of behaviour; based on instinct.

Usage examples:

An instinctual survival response

adjective

Happening naturally, as a result of instinct, rather than being thought about, planned, or developed by training

Usage examples:

Those who struggle to control their instinctual passions, he says his decisions that day were insti…

adjective

Happening or existing as a result of habit, rather than careful consideration

Usage examples:

When asked about crime, the mayor’s knee-jerk reaction is to call for longer prison sentences.

adjective

Required by law or mandate; compulsory.

Usage examples:

Wearing helmets was made mandatory for pedal cyclists

noun

Variant spelling of mandatary.

noun

A person or state receiving a mandate.

adjective

Operated by a machine or machinery.

Usage examples:

A mechanical device

noun

The working parts of a vehicle.

Usage examples:

A major overhaul of the mechanicals

adjective

Of machines or their parts

Usage examples:

A mechanical problem, the garbagemen worked in a slow, mechanical way.

adjective

Required by a legal, moral, or other rule; compulsory.

Usage examples:

Use of seat belts in cars is now obligatory

adjective

(of an action) expected, esp. because it is what most people do

Usage examples:

Everybody who goes to england makes the obligatory trip to stonehenge.

adjective

If something is obligatory, you must do it because of a rule or law

Usage examples:

It is obligatory for sb to do sth it is obligatory for members in practice to hold insurance., the …

verb

Make (someone) a priest or minister; confer holy orders on.

Usage examples:

He was ordained a minister before entering parliament

verb

(of a medical practitioner) advise and authorize the use of (a medicine or treatment) for someone, especially in writing.

Usage examples:

Her doctor prescribed sleeping tablets

adjective

Set by a rule or order

Usage examples:

The product will have to meet internationally prescribed (= demanded) standards., the patient was t…

adjective

Decided by a doctor as treatment

Usage examples:

The patient was taking a widely prescribed sedative.

noun

An action that is performed without conscious thought as a response to a stimulus.

Usage examples:

A newborn baby is equipped with basic reflexes

adjective

(of an action) performed without conscious thought as an automatic response to a stimulus.

Usage examples:

Sneezing is a reflex action

noun

A sudden, automatic reaction to something

Usage examples:

He’s strong, always has good positioning, and his reflexes are fantastic.

adjective

Denoting a pronoun that refers back to the subject of the clause in which it is used, e.g. myself, themselves.

Usage examples:

The term emphatic pronoun refers to a reflexive pronoun used to emphasize a noun phrase, as in ‘the…

noun

A reflexive word or form, especially a pronoun.

Usage examples:

Np-anaphora can be encoded by gaps, pronouns, reflexives, names, and descriptions.

adjective

Officially compulsory, or otherwise considered essential; indispensable.

Usage examples:

Eight editions were published, each required reading for trainees

verb

Need for a particular purpose.

Usage examples:

Three patients required operations

adjective

Performed or occurring as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus.

Usage examples:

The audience broke into spontaneous applause

Said or done without having been planned in advance

adjective

Happening naturally, without planning or encouragement

Usage examples:

A spontaneous performance, spontaneous affection, the children spontaneously gave us hugs and kisses.

adjective

Not subject to conditions or to an antecedent condition; unconditional.

Usage examples:

This is love unconditioned in its giving

adjective

Not awake and aware of and responding to one's environment.

Usage examples:

The boy was beaten unconscious

noun

The part of the mind which is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behaviour and emotions.

Usage examples:

Horrific apparitions surfaced out of the recesses of his unconscious

Lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception

adjective

Not consenting.

Usage examples:

It is too heavy a burden to be borne unconsenting

adjective

Not controlled.

Usage examples:

Some uncontrolled children rather marred the proceedings

adjective

Existing or happening with nothing able to stop it

Usage examples:

Uncontrolled shivering, the uncontrolled spread of urban sprawl

adjective

Not planned or meant.

Usage examples:

The unintended consequences of people's actions

adjective

Not done on purpose.

Usage examples:

The translation added a layer of unintentional comedy

adjective

Not planned or intended

adjective

Not planned.

Usage examples:

An unplanned pregnancy

adjective

Not planned or expected

Usage examples:

An unplanned pregnancy

adjective

Expressed, done, or acting without proper consideration of the consequences.

Usage examples:

She was at pains to correct unthinking prejudices

adjective

Not based on serious thought or an examination of the information

Usage examples:

What annoys me about these people is their unthinking hostility to anything foreign or unfamiliar.

adjective

Not ready, eager, or prepared to do something.

Usage examples:

He was unwilling to take on that responsibility

adjective

Not wanting to do something

Usage examples:

[ + to infinitive ] the bank was unwilling to lend her money.