Everyday · Philosophy & belief
Free will: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Free will noun. The power to make choices that are genuinely one's own rather than fixed by fate or prior causes.
How to say it
free WILL/ˌfriː ˈwɪl/
2 syllables, stressed on the second (WILL).
Free will in a sentence
Neuroscientists and philosophers still argue over whether free will is real or a useful story.
Nobody forced you to order the fourth pudding; that was entirely your own free will.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- choice
- volition
- self-determination
- autonomy
Opposite:
- determinism
- fate
Where free will comes from
A translation of Latin liberum arbitrium, free judgement, a phrase of medieval theology.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Nobody forced you to order the fourth pudding; that was entirely your own _____.
- stoicism
- free will
- raison d'être
Show the answer
free will: Nobody forced you to order the fourth pudding; that was entirely your own free will.