spontaneously
Americanadverb
-
naturally, without premeditation, prompting, or planning.
The author recounts how a fully-fledged exchange market economy emerged spontaneously in his POW camp.
These answers were given spontaneously to an open-ended question that did not offer response options.
-
in an impulsive way.
It was so cold the other night that I spontaneously booked a trip to Turks and Caicos.
-
by a natural process or from an internal force or cause.
A calf should normally stand spontaneously within 60–90 minutes of its birth.
The symptoms resolved spontaneously within 6 months of onset.
Other Word Forms
- nonspontaneously adverb
- semispontaneously adverb
- subspontaneously adverb
- unspontaneously adverb
Etymology
Origin of spontaneously
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Duannis was 22 and watching soccer at a cafe when he spontaneously joined Cuba’s biggest antigovernment street protest in decades.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026
The group, according to Burke, spontaneously began chanting an exuberant Australian cheer: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi, oi!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
"The Singers" focuses on a group of lonely men who spontaneously begin a musical competition one night in a bar.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
"I'm a jaded roboticist, but I can't help but smile back at a robot that spontaneously smiles at me."
From Science Daily • Jan. 16, 2026
It pulled away from the shore spontaneously, turned around, and started toward the little white pier.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
