Main Entry: spon·ta·ne·ous

Pronunciation: \spän-ˈtā-nē-əs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Late Latin spontaneus, from Latin sponte of one's free will, voluntarily

Date: 1653

1 : proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external constraint
2 : arising from a momentary impulse
3 : controlled and directed internally : self-acting <spontaneous movement characteristic of living things>
4 : produced without being planted or without human labor : indigenous
5 : developing or occurring without apparent external influence, force, cause, or treatment
6 : not apparently contrived or manipulated : natural

— spon·ta·ne·ous·ly adverb

— spon·ta·ne·ous·ness noun

synonyms spontaneous, impulsive, instinctive, automatic, mechanical mean acting or activated without deliberation. spontaneous implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness <a spontaneous burst of applause>. impulsive implies acting under stress of emotion or spirit of the moment <impulsive acts of violence>. instinctive stresses action involving neither judgment nor will <blinking is an instinctive reaction>. automatic implies action engaging neither the mind nor the emotions and connotes a predictable response <his denial was automatic>. mechanical stresses the lifeless, often perfunctory character of the response <a mechanical teaching method>.