involuntarily

From involuntary +‎ -ly or in- +‎ voluntarily.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈvɒləntɹɪli/
• (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA^(key): /ɪnˌvɑlənˈtɛɹɪli/
• (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈvɒlənˌtɛɹɪli/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈvɔləntɹɪli/
• Hyphenation: in‧vol‧un‧ta‧ri‧ly

involuntarily (comparative more involuntarily, superlative most involuntarily)

1. In an involuntary manner; done without conscious thought.

   Her leg twitched involuntarily.

   He involuntarily overheard the conversation.

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Letter”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 283:

     His eyes filled with tears, as he took up the glittering lengths. Their pale gold was lovely as ever; but there was something in the touch from which he involuntarily recoiled.

   • 2025 January 29, Sandee LaMotte, “A rare brain disorder robbed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of his strong speaking voice”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Kennedy’s vocal rasp is not caused by an infection or respiratory condition. Instead, he has spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition in which the muscles that open and close his vocal cords spasm involuntarily, creating a strained or strangled quality to his speech.

• unwillingly

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “involuntarily”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “involuntarily”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.