spontaneous

[ spon-tey-nee-uhs ]
See synonyms for: spontaneousspontaneously on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned: a spontaneous burst of applause.

  2. (of a person) given to acting upon sudden impulses.

  1. (of natural phenomena) arising from internal forces or causes; independent of external agencies; self-acting.

  2. growing naturally or without cultivation, as plants and fruits; indigenous.

  3. produced by natural process.

Origin of spontaneous

1
First recorded in 1650–60; from Late Latin spontāneus, equivalent to Latin spont(e) “willingly” + -āneus (-ān(us) -an + -eus -eous)

synonym study For spontaneous

Other words for spontaneous

Opposites for spontaneous

Other words from spontaneous

  • spon·ta·ne·ous·ly, adverb
  • spon·ta·ne·ous·ness, noun
  • non·spon·ta·ne·ous, adjective
  • non·spon·ta·ne·ous·ness, noun
  • sem·i·spon·ta·ne·ous, adjective
  • sem·i·spon·ta·ne·ous·ness, noun
  • sub·spon·ta·ne·ous, adjective
  • sub·spon·ta·ne·ous·ness, noun
  • un·spon·ta·ne·ous, adjective
  • un·spon·ta·ne·ous·ness, noun

Words Nearby spontaneous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spontaneous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spontaneous

spontaneous

/ (spɒnˈteɪnɪəs) /


adjective
  1. occurring, produced, or performed through natural processes without external influence: spontaneous movement

  2. arising from an unforced personal impulse; voluntary; unpremeditated: a spontaneous comment

  1. (of plants) growing naturally; indigenous

Origin of spontaneous

1
C17: from Late Latin spontāneus, from Latin sponte voluntarily

Derived forms of spontaneous

  • spontaneously, adverb
  • spontaneousness, noun

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