Spontaneous

  • 1Spontaneous — means a self generated event, typically requiring no outside influence or help.The word spontaneous may also refer to:* Spontaneous abortion * Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis * Spontaneous combustion * Spontaneous emission * Spontaneous fission …

    Wikipedia

  • 2Spontaneous — Spon*ta ne*ous (sp[o^]n*t[=a] n[ e]*[u^]s), a. [L. spontaneus, fr. sponte of free will, voluntarily.] 1. Proceeding from natural feeling, temperament, or disposition, or from a native internal proneness, readiness, or tendency, without… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3spontaneous — 1 Spontaneous, impulsive, instinctive, automatic, mechanical in application to persons or their movements, acts, and utterances mean acting or activated without apparent thought or deliberation. Spontaneous can describe whatever is not affected… …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 4spontaneous — I adjective discretional, discretionary, elective, extemporal, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, free, free willed, impetuous, impromptu, improvisatorial, improvised, impulsive, indeliberate, independent, natural, optional, rash, self… …

    Law dictionary

  • 5spontaneous — 1650s, from L.L. spontaneus willing, of one s free will, from L. (sua) sponte of one s own accord, willingly; of unknown origin. Related: Spontaneously. Earliest use is of persons and characters. Spontaneous combustion first attested 1795.… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6spontaneous — [spän tā′nē əs] adj. [LL spontaneus < L sponte, of free will < IE base * (s)pen(d) , to pull > SPIN] 1. acting in accordance with or resulting from a natural feeling, impulse, or tendency, without any constraint, effort, or premeditation …

    English World dictionary

  • 7spontaneous — [adj] impulsive, willing ad lib*, automatic, break loose, casual, down, extemporaneous, extempore, free, free spirited, from the hip*, impetuous, impromptu, improvised, inevitable, instinctive, involuntary, irresistible, natural, offhand, off the …

    New thesaurus

  • 8spontaneous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) performed or occurring as a result of an unpremeditated impulse and without external stimulus. 2) open, natural, and uninhibited. 3) (of a process or event) occurring without apparent external cause. 4) Biology (of movement or… …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9spontaneous — 01. The crowd burst into [spontaneous] applause when the Queen appeared on the balcony. 02. Thousands of people [spontaneously] poured into the streets of the capital to celebrate after the victory of the national soccer team in the World Cup. 03 …

    Grammatical examples in English

  • 10spontaneous — adjective 1) a spontaneous display of affection Syn: unplanned, unpremeditated, unrehearsed, impulsive, impetuous, unstudied, impromptu, spur of the moment, extempore, extemporaneous; unforced, voluntary, unconstrained, unprompted, unbidden,… …

    Thesaurus of popular words