Synonym Chooser

How is the word spontaneous distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of spontaneous are automatic, impulsive, instinctive, and mechanical. While all these words mean "acting or activated without deliberation," spontaneous implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness.

a spontaneous burst of applause

In what contexts can automatic take the place of spontaneous?

The meanings of automatic and spontaneous largely overlap; however, automatic implies action engaging neither the mind nor the emotions and connotes a predictable response.

his denial was automatic

When is it sensible to use impulsive instead of spontaneous?

In some situations, the words impulsive and spontaneous are roughly equivalent. However, impulsive implies acting under stress of emotion or spirit of the moment.

impulsive acts of violence

When could instinctive be used to replace spontaneous?

The synonyms instinctive and spontaneous are sometimes interchangeable, but instinctive stresses action involving neither judgment nor will.

blinking is an instinctive reaction

Where would mechanical be a reasonable alternative to spontaneous?

The words mechanical and spontaneous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, mechanical stresses the lifeless, often perfunctory character of the response.

a mechanical teaching method

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spontaneous Then, on the other five days, add some spontaneous brisk walking. Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Oct. 2025 None of these tactics are spontaneous. Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025 Say yes to the spontaneous invite. Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 26 Oct. 2025 The piece signals transformation, but the spontaneous laugh turns luxury into connection; by the red-gown reveal, the necklace reads less like a trophy and more like a charm that’s worked. Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for spontaneous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spontaneous
Adjective
  • The battle for the Group of 5 automatic bid is wide open in Week 11.
    Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Say, for example, that a restaurant’s menu states that an automatic 18% charge will be added to all bills for parties of six or more customers.
    Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Driving through deep water can also affect a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Analysts also point out that the global supply of key components such as DRAM chips for consumer electronics, NAND flash chips for SSDs, and mechanical hard drives has all been constrained by the voracious demand from AI data centers.
    , CNBC, 10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.
    CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Excluding disasters, sudden surges of this magnitude in requests for food or any other need are rare at 211s, and can signal both public worry and need, as happened in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Matthew W. Kreuter, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • But largely absent from the show was a pain management disorder – reflex neurovascular dystrophy, also known as complex regional pain syndrome – that Sioux has dealt with for much of her life.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
  • In each case, there's a recognition that some players might want to explore a game's world—to experience the characters, art, and dialogue that the developers worked so hard to craft—without struggling through mechanical reflex tests or grindy, repetitive challenges.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For example, China has tested a satellite with a robotic arm that can shift other satellites into a different orbit.
    Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • There were several such facilities at the time that were developing simulation centers with very sophisticated, six-figure robotic mannequins, on which training is done in low-stress environments for nurses, physicians and other healthcare providers.
    Pat Maio, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The piece Lee publishes isn’t a Pulitzer-winning takedown, but a posthumous profile of the reclusive, kind-hearted Dale, a man who shares Dale’s love of crime writers like Jim Thompson and instinctive empathy for underdogs.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Not home in the physical sense, but in the ancestral one — that instinctive recognition that lives in the bones.
    Shelby Stewart, Essence, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For example, ads for mechanic positions were predominantly shown to men, while those for preschool teacher roles were primarily directed to women.
    Carlotta Dotto, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Donegan, who is twenty-eight, grew up in small-town Virginia, in a family that owned an assortment of local businesses—a tobacco farm, a mechanic shop, an electricity company.
    Dan Greene, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.
    Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Spontaneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spontaneous. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.

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