volun-told
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Nominally voluntary but understood to be an order.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
Yet military life includes times when requests, though not explicit, are understood as orders, says Michael Weinstein, a former U.S. military lawyer and founder of MRFF. The U.S. military word for it, he notes, is “volun-told.”
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “volun-told” mean?
Nominally voluntary but understood to be an order.
Is “volun-told” formal or informal?
volun-told is generally slang.