spontaneous

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adjective spon·ta·ne·ous \spän-ˈtā-nē-əs\

Definition of spontaneous

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

spontaneously

adverb

spontaneousness

noun

See spontaneous defined for English-language learners

See spontaneous defined for kids

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Examples of spontaneous in a Sentence

Shane has a lovely habit of paying us spontaneous visits: one time she brought over a jar of a pickle she'd recently put up; another time just a good story or two. —James Oseland, Saveur, December 2006
Cold viruses can damage the olfactory system directly. This loss of smell may last even after the cold is over. Sometimes the sense comes back as suddenly as it disappeared, perhaps because even as adults we generate new olfactory neurons. Spontaneous improvement might be a person's best hope, because there are no real proven treatments for reversing olfactory nerve damage. —Harvard Health Letter, September 2001
Peter Jakobsen of the European Space Agency, which built the Faint Object Camera, drew spontaneous applause at the January meeting when he showed an image of supernova SN1987A from the instrument. —Kristin Leutwyler, Scientific American, March 1994
The comment was completely spontaneous.
He's a guy who's spontaneous and fun.

Recent Examples of spontaneous from the Web

In the immediate aftermath of the attack against a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya in September 2012, UN Ambassador Susan Rice claimed repeatedly that the attack had been a spontaneous event driven by a controversial video.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Donald Trump called the Manila murders a 'terrorrist attack.' Except....", 2 June 2017
Police were attempting to detain the 20-year-old man when hundreds of fellow students organized a spontaneous attempt to block his deportation.

— associated press, Washington Post, "Germany to check Afghan security before deporting migrants", 1 June 2017
That injury, Peerwani said, led to necrosis of King’s colon, leaving the boy susceptible to spontaneous rupture or rupture with even minor trauma.

— deanna boyd, star-telegram, "Could the death of one abused child have saved the life of another?", 31 May 2017
And Ms. Hartman indisputably has a gift for capturing the spontaneous moment.

— andy webster, New York Times, "Review: ‘The Incomparable Rose Hartman’ Snaps Glimpses of the Glitterati", 31 May 2017
Other boys respected his I’ll-go-crazy-on-your-ass aura, maintained through spontaneous outbursts of kicking, shouting, and cursing.

— anne beatty, The Atlantic, "Hollywood's Reductive Narratives About School", 30 May 2017
On some nights, the artists will finish the evening at Tablao Flamenco Albuquerque, a new venue at a hotel in the city’s Old Town where dancers and musician give spontaneous performances.

— russell contreras, The Seattle Times, "International flamenco festival set to mark 30 years", 29 May 2017
After the minute's silence in St Ann's square, a quiet, spontaneous rendition of Don't Look Back in Anger broke out in the crowd #

— chris deville, Billboard, "Watch Manchester Vigil Break Out Into Oasis Song After Minute of Silence for Victims", 25 May 2017
The organizers are making big changes to ensure that the concept of spontaneous community can be preserved within an expected crowd of up to 20,000 people.

— janelle brown, WIRED, "Burning Man Burnout", 11 July 1997

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spontaneous'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Spontaneous derives, via the Late Latin spontaneus, from the Latin sponte, meaning "of one's free will, voluntarily," and first appeared in English in the mid-17th century. Thomas Hobbes was an early adopter: he wrote that "all voluntary actions … are called also spontaneous, and said to be done by man's own accord" in his famous 1656 The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance. Today the word is more often applied to things done or said in a natural and often sudden way, without a lot of thought or planning—or to people who do or say things in such a way.

Origin and Etymology of spontaneous

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

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First Known Use: 1653

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of spontaneous

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

SPONTANEOUS Defined for English Language Learners

spontaneous

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adjective

Definition of spontaneous for English Language Learners

: done or said in a natural and often sudden way and without a lot of thought or planning
: doing things that have not been planned but that seem enjoyable and worth doing at a particular time

SPONTANEOUS Defined for Kids

spontaneous

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adjective spon·ta·ne·ous \spän-ˈtā-nē-əs\

Definition of spontaneous for Students

1 : done, said, or produced freely and naturally spontaneous laughter
2 : acting or taking place without outside force or cause a spontaneous fire

spontaneously

adverb

Medical Dictionary

spontaneous

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adjective spon·ta·ne·ous \spän-ˈtā-nē-əs\

Medical Definition of spontaneous

1: proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external constraint
2: developing without apparent external influence, force, cause, or treatment a spontaneous nosebleed