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: free, unpremeditated
   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

Other Word Forms

• spontaneously adverb
• spontaneousness noun
• nonspontaneous adjective
• nonspontaneousness noun
• semispontaneous adjective
• semispontaneousness noun
• subspontaneous adjective
• subspontaneousness noun
• unspontaneous adjective
• unspontaneousness 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

In some other areas, the raising of flags appears to be spontaneous, coinciding with a highly charged political time in the UK when it comes to national identity and belonging.

From BBC

To keep the sessions spontaneous, he didn't finish any of the "16 or 17" songs he'd written, preferring to thrash out the arrangements in the studio with his touring band.

From BBC

The second was the idea of a period film — how can I be authentic and fluid in a period film, where you can’t just make things up in the moment, you can’t be spontaneous?

From Los Angeles Times

"By the end of it, I had nothing left to give, I was unhappy. I am loud, bubbly, energetic and spontaneous. I felt like I had lost that and really lost myself."

From BBC

The creative act is intuitive and spontaneous, and I think it makes a symmetry with the cycles and forms of nature.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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

When To Use

What does spontaneous mean?

Spontaneous means natural and unplanned. When you describe an action or event as spontaneous, it means it happened naturally, without having been planned, as in The meeting turned into a spontaneous dance party.When something that someone does is described as spontaneous, it means it was done out of a natural impulse, without having been thought about beforehandWhen spontaneous is used to describe a person, it means they have a tendency to or are known for doing things impulsively and without planning. This is usually used in a positive way to portray them as a fun person who is adventurous and willing to do things on the spur of the moment. Telling someone to be more spontaneous means you want them to be more flexible and willing to do more things on a whim instead of needings for things to be completely structured or scheduled.The state or quality of being spontaneous is spontaneity.In a scientific context, spontaneous is used to describe effects that happen independently, without being acted on by outside forces. The most well-known example of its use in this sense is in the term spontaneous combustion, in which something catches on fire due to an internal chemical reaction (as opposed to external ignition).Example: Julian’s friends knew him as a spontaneous guy who was always up for going on random adventures.