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spontaneous
[ spon-tey-nee-uhs ]
adjective
- 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
- (of a person) given to acting upon sudden impulses.
- (of natural phenomena) arising from internal forces or causes; independent of external agencies; self-acting.
- growing naturally or without cultivation, as plants and fruits; indigenous.
- produced by natural process.
spontaneous
/ spɒnˈteɪnɪəs /
adjective
- occurring, produced, or performed through natural processes without external influence
spontaneous movement
- arising from an unforced personal impulse; voluntary; unpremeditated
a spontaneous comment
- (of plants) growing naturally; indigenous
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Derived Forms
- sponˈtaneousness, noun
- sponˈtaneously, adverb
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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
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Word History and Origins
Origin of spontaneous1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of spontaneous1
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Example Sentences
Because most people don’t make totally spontaneous decisions about where to go or eat — some amount of forethought or planning is typically involved — it will be interesting to see how this feature gets used and evolves.
Deactivation of lateral PFC regions is associated with free-floating, defocused attention, allowing spontaneous associations between ideas to arise, and sudden realizations or insights to occur.
Not surprisingly, the frontal regions of the brain that have been shown to be involved in time perception and impulse control are also involved in spontaneous creativity.
In nature, any spontaneous flow between two reservoirs can be harvested to produce power.
Other times, culture emerges by accident, the product of a million spontaneous actions that over time become habits—for better or worse.
The premise of the sketch was that sex was too spontaneous to be regulated, and the quiz show played that idea to the hilt.
Trying to be ordinary, plain-spoken, and spontaneous made it worse.
Odds against chance in a review of spontaneous telepathy studies have been calculated, Radin says, at “22 billion to 1.”
Israelis have also waged a psy-war on Hamas, albeit more informal and spontaneous.
New York in the 1920s was iridescent, and its boom was spontaneous.
Perhaps his almost perfectly spontaneous love of tiny flowers is already a considerable advance on his so-called prototype.
Yet I think if we observe closely we shall detect traces of a spontaneous impulse towards self-adornment.
Spontaneous gaiety was gone out of his cousin, whose attempts to be his normal self became forced and unsuccessful.
In a strict sense, of course, no child's drawing is absolutely spontaneous and independent of external stimulus and guidance.
As far as possible I have sought spontaneous drawings of quite young children, viz., from between two and three to about six.
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More About Spontaneous
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 beforehand
When 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.
Where does spontaneous come from?
The first records of the word spontaneous come from the mid-1600s. It comes from the Late Latin word spontāneus, which is related to the Latin spont(e), meaning “willingly” or “voluntarily.”
When you describe someone as spontaneous, it implies that they’re “up for anything”—they’re willing to try something new at a moment’s notice (without needing to plan or prepare for it). Telling someone who’s going on vacation to “plan to be spontaneous” sounds like an oxymoron (a contradiction in terms), but it really just means that they should reserve some time that is not planned out, when they can choose to do whatever you want.
When someone makes a spontaneous speech, they are speaking without having planned what they were going to say. More common synonyms for this are impromptu, extemporaneous, offhand, and off-the-cuff.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to spontaneous?
- spontaneously (adverb)
- spontaneousness (noun)
- spontaneity (noun)
What are some synonyms for spontaneous?
What are some words that share a root or word element with spontaneous?
What are some words that often get used in discussing spontaneous?
How is spontaneous used in real life?
Spontaneous is most commonly used in a positive way to imply a flexibility to do fun and adventurous things.
remember when i went through a phase where i REALLY wanted to work on being more spontaneous ?? it didn’t work. i’m at a point where i don’t do things unless they are on my google calendar at least 24 hours in advance.
— olivia 🌹 (@oliviakeilani) June 14, 2020
Are you a planner or do you love being spontaneous?
— Rebekah Radice (@RebekahRadice) November 9, 2020
The magic moment when the 🌈 appeared above the spontaneous dance party on Sunset Blvd in Echo Park pic.twitter.com/89m66gseRW
— Emily Guerin (@guerinemily) November 8, 2020
Try using spontaneous!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of spontaneous?
A. unplanned
B. unforced
C. scheduled
D. impromptu
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