spontaneous

[ spon-tey-nee-uhs ]

adjective

1. coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned:

   a spontaneous burst of applause.

   Synonyms: unpremeditated, free

   Antonyms: premeditated

2. (of a person) given to acting upon sudden impulses.
3. (of natural phenomena) arising from internal forces or causes; independent of external agencies; self-acting.
4. growing naturally or without cultivation, as plants and fruits; indigenous.
5. produced by natural process.

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

3. (of plants) growing naturally; indigenous

Derived Forms

• sponˈtaneousness, noun
• sponˈtaneously, adverb

Other Words From

• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spontaneous¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spontaneous¹

C17: from Late Latin spontāneus, from Latin sponte voluntarily

Synonym Study

See automatic, voluntary.

Example Sentences

The premise of the sketch was that sex was too spontaneous to be regulated, and the quiz show played that idea to the hilt.

From The Daily Beast

Trying to be ordinary, plain-spoken, and spontaneous made it worse.

From The Daily Beast

Odds against chance in a review of spontaneous telepathy studies have been calculated, Radin says, at “22 billion to 1.”

From The Daily Beast

Israelis have also waged a psy-war on Hamas, albeit more informal and spontaneous.

From The Daily Beast

New York in the 1920s was iridescent, and its boom was spontaneous.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps his almost perfectly spontaneous love of tiny flowers is already a considerable advance on his so-called prototype.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet I think if we observe closely we shall detect traces of a spontaneous impulse towards self-adornment.

From Project Gutenberg

Spontaneous gaiety was gone out of his cousin, whose attempts to be his normal self became forced and unsuccessful.

From Project Gutenberg

In a strict sense, of course, no child's drawing is absolutely spontaneous and independent of external stimulus and guidance.

From Project Gutenberg

As far as possible I have sought spontaneous drawings of quite young children, viz., from between two and three to about six.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• casual
• impromptu
• instinctive
• offhand
• simple
• unplanned
• voluntary