Agency
What it means
The effective power to make choices and act on them.
Reach for it when emphasizing real control rather than nominal permission
Flexible scheduling gave the residents more agency over their daily routines.
Words to choose between 8
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional |
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| formal |
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everyday
Fits when selection between genuine options is the immediate fact
Careful Choice alone does not provide the ability to carry a decision through.
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everyday
control
Fits when direct influence over outcomes should be stated plainly
Careful Control may be coercive, whereas agency requires a respected capacity to choose.
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warm
Fits when power or confidence has been actively strengthened
Careful Empowerment can become empty rhetoric when decision rights remain elsewhere.
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warm
Fits when reliance on others has been meaningfully reduced
Careful Collaborative agency can thrive through interdependence; complete independence is unnecessary.
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warm
Fits when someone can influence a shared decision and be heard
Careful Voice does not guarantee authority over the final outcome.
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professional
Fits when freedom from external control is the central right
Careful Autonomy can exist formally while a person lacks resources to act.
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professional
Fits when someone begins useful action without waiting for instruction
Careful Initiative is a behavior, while agency is the underlying capacity.
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formal
self-determination
Fits when people set their own direction on matters affecting their lives
Careful Self-determination is weighty language for a minor workplace choice.
Opposites 3
- powerlessness
- coercion
- dependence
Common phrases 4
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personal agency
The program protects personal agency by offering several care options.
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sense of agency
Completing the repair restored her sense of agency.
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exercise agency
Students exercise agency when they choose the question they will investigate.
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greater agency
Direct access to the data gave local teams greater agency.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Neskaya, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated