ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Spontaneous

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /spɒnˈteɪ.ni.əs/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Spontaneous is an adjective meaning Self-generated; happening without any apparent external cause.

Meaning

Self-generated; happening without any apparent external cause.

More Meanings

  1. Done by one's own free choice, or without planning.
  2. Proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external or conscious constraint.
  3. Arising from a momentary impulse.
  4. Controlled and directed internally; self-active; spontaneous movement characteristic of living things.
  5. Produced without being planted or without human cultivation or labor.
  6. Sudden, without warning.
  7. Said or done without prior planning or prior writing.

Example Sentences

To make a spontaneous decision
He made a spontaneous offer of help.
He made a spontaneous remarks in the court.
YSL, as he is often called, is equally capable of casual, aristocratic cruelty and earthy, spontaneous tenderness, and when you study his face it can be hard to distinguish boredom from rapture.

Synonyms for spontaneous

Depending on context, synonyms include autonomous, abrupt, precipitous, subitaneous, precipitant, precipitate.

Antonyms for spontaneous

Common opposites include induced.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include unprompted, unscripted, instinctive, natural, impulsive, wild.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.