Standard Lemma guide

volunteerism

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: V AO2 L AH0 N T IH1 R IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Reliance on volunteers to perform a social or educational function.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The tendency to volunteer; the activity of volunteering.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • His volunteerism eventually burned him out.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English volunteer Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English volunteerism From volunteer + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: vapaaehtoistyö — tendency to volunteer
  • Greek: εθελοντισμός (ethelontismós) — tendency to volunteer
  • Hungarian: önkénteskedés — tendency to volunteer
  • Hungarian: önkéntesség — tendency to volunteer
  • Romanian: voluntariat — tendency to volunteer
  • Russian: волонтёрство (volontjórstvo) — tendency to volunteer