[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/involuntary.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / involuntary

[← I](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/I/)

# involuntary

«involuntary» in Mova's school dictionary: **done without meaning to or without control, like a sneeze…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective

### meaning for a pupil

1) Involuntary means done without meaning to or without control, like a sneeze or a shiver. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#m1)

2) (formal) Done against someone's will: «involuntary redundancy». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

Used in science (involuntary muscles like the heart, involuntary reflexes) and formal writing. It tells the reader an action was not chosen.

### examples

- Blinking is often involuntary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x1)
- The heart is an involuntary muscle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x2)
- She gave an involuntary shiver. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x3)
- Sneezing is an involuntary reflex. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x4)
- His involuntary laugh made everyone giggle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x5)
- Hiccups are involuntary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/#x6)

### note

Opposite: voluntary. «An involuntary» (vowel sound). Adverb: involuntarily. In science, reflexes protect you, like pulling your hand from a hot pan.

### In the corpora

- [A song stuck in your head is called an earworm; scientists call it involuntary musical imagery, and most people get them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/5-the-songs-on-everyones-phone-streaming-playlists-earworms/5/)
- ["Involuntary separation" (official US) means being fired.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/20-debt-and-jobs/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «involuntary» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/involuntary/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.