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voluntary organization

Definition of Voluntary Organization

(noun) An organization that an individual joins in order to pursue interests that are shared by themselves and others.

Voluntary Organization Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: vol·un·tar·y or·gan·i·za·tion

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /vAHl-uhn-tair-ee orguh-nuh-zAY-shuhn/
  • British English – /vOl-uhn-tuh-ree awguh-nie-zAY-shuhn/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈvɑləntɛri ˌɔrgənəˈzeɪʃən/
  • British English – /ˈvɒləntəri ˌɔːgənaɪˈzeɪʃən/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: voluntary organizations
  • Also called normative organization.

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Additional Information

Related Terms

Works Consulted

Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ferrante, Joan. 2011a. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ferrante, Joan. 2011b. Sociology: A Global Perspective. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).

Cite the Definition of Voluntary Organization

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “voluntary organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/voluntary-organization/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

voluntary organization. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/voluntary-organization/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “voluntary organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/voluntary-organization/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“voluntary organization.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/voluntary-organization/>.