involuntary
Involuntary means to lack control or intent. Involuntary acts include reflexes, convulsions, or other acts not consciously controlled, or beyond a person’s power to prevent. In criminal law, involuntary actions may absolve the actor from liability.
Involuntary intoxication is intoxication that arises from an innocent mistake, like the unexpected effects of prescribed medication, or due to coercion. Involuntary civil commitment is when a person occurs when a person is placed in a mental health facility against their will. Under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, a statement or confession is involuntary if it was obtained through improper influence such as promises, threats, or violence.
[Last reviewed in September of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Wex