involuntary
adj.adj. something that happens without you choosing to do it. You use this to describe a movement or action your body makes on its own.
adj. done without conscious control or intention; occurring as a reflex or automatic response. Often used in medical or physiological contexts to describe muscle movements.
A sneeze is an involuntary reaction to dust.
The patient experienced involuntary muscle spasms in his left leg after the long surgery.
While some physical responses are purely involuntary, others can be partially regulated through deep breathing and focused mindfulness techniques.
From in- + voluntary, from Late Latin involontarius, from in + volontarius.
Often appears before nouns like 'action', 'response', 'muscle', or 'movement'.
an involuntary of the handan involuntary movement of the handInvoluntary is an adjective and must modify a noun; it cannot be used as a noun itself.