as in voluntary
subject to one's freedom of choice
at the resort all recreational activities are optional, and you may choose to participate in none of them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of optional
The problem comes when debt interferes with the education that students are attempting to earn, when working is no longer optional, and loans become the answer.
—
Liam McCusker, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Spaces where representation isn’t optional but foundational.
—Essence, 7 Jan. 2026
Creating a Kentucky Mobile ID is optional, and residents still need to carry a physical ID for other law enforcement checks, but the digital option may be more convenient for Kentuckians at the airport, officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 6 Jan. 2026
Compliance is no longer optional.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for optional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for optional
Adjective
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The program was also voluntary — if residents saw fit just to throw all their recyclable glass and aluminum and paper into the regular garbage there was nothing stopping them from doing so.—
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But that doesn’t mean anyone took it easy on Sherrod, who always participated in voluntary class time.—
Adjective
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Smith was dead less than two weeks later, one of two other women who died following elective operations Regenass performed from December 2022 to February 2023, court records show.—
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Other members remain ambitious for elective office and decide to use their position in Congress as a springboard for another position.—
Adjective
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Energy was one of the best performing S&P sectors so far in the day, but the financials and consumer discretionary sectors also rallied.—
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That accounts for a small fraction of total discretionary government spending.—
Cite this Entry
“Optional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/optional. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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