spontaneous


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spon·ta·ne·ous

 (spŏn-tā′nē-əs)
adj.
1. Happening or arising without apparent external cause; self-generated: a microorganism capable of spontaneous movement.
2. Arising from a natural inclination or impulse and not from forethought or prompting: spontaneous laughter; a spontaneous protest.
3. Unconstrained and unstudied in manner or behavior: a spontaneous personality.
4. Growing without cultivation or human labor: spontaneous vegetation.

[From Late Latin spontāneus, of one's own accord, from Latin sponte; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

spon·ta′ne·ous·ly adv.
spon·ta′ne·ous·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spontaneous

(spɒnˈteɪnɪəs)
adj
1. occurring, produced, or performed through natural processes without external influence: spontaneous movement.
2. arising from an unforced personal impulse; voluntary; unpremeditated: a spontaneous comment.
3. (Botany) (of plants) growing naturally; indigenous
[C17: from Late Latin spontāneus, from Latin sponte voluntarily]
sponˈtaneously adv
sponˈtaneousness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spon•ta•ne•ous

(spɒnˈteɪ ni əs)

adj.
1. coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation.
2. (of a person) given to acting upon sudden impulses.
3. (of natural phenomena) arising from internal forces or causes.
4. growing naturally or without cultivation, as plants and fruits; indigenous.
[1650–60; < Late Latin spontāneus= Latin spont(e) willingly + -āneus (-ān(us) -an1 + -eus -eous)]
spon•ta′ne•ous•ly, adv.
spon•ta′ne•ous•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.spontaneous - happening or arising without apparent external cause; "spontaneous laughter"; "spontaneous combustion"; "a spontaneous abortion"
induced - brought about or caused; not spontaneous; "a case of steroid-induced weakness"
2.spontaneous - said or done without having been planned or written in advance; "he made a few ad-lib remarks"
unscripted - not furnished with or using a script; "unrehearsed and unscript spot interviews"; "unscripted talk shows"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

spontaneous

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

spontaneous

adjective
1. Acting or happening without apparent forethought, prompting, or planning:
2. Done by one's own choice:
3. Unconstrained by rigid standards or ceremony:
Informal: laid-back.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
طَبيعي، تِلقائيعَفْويعَفَوِيّ
dobrovolnýpřirozenýspontánní
spontan
spontaaniimpulsiivinen
spontanimpulzivan
spontán
óòvingaîursem gerist án utanaîkomandi áhrifa
自発的な
자발적인
betarpiškasbetarpiškumassavaimingassavaimingumasspontaniškai
brīvslabprātīgspatvaļīgsspontāns
spontan
spontan
ซึ่งกระทำเองโดยทันที
tự phát

spontaneous

[spɒnˈteɪnɪəs] ADJespontáneo
spontaneous combustioncombustión f espontánea
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spontaneous

[spɒnˈteɪniəs] adjspontané(e)spontaneous combustion ncombustion f spontanée
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

spontaneous

adjspontan; styleungezwungen

spontaneous

:
spontaneous abortion
spontaneous combustion
nSelbstentzündung f; spontaneous generationUrzeugung f, → Abiogenese f (spec)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spontaneous

[spɒnˈteɪnɪəs] adjspontaneo/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

spontaneous

(spənˈteiniəs) adjective
1. said, done etc of one's own free will without pressure from others. His offer was quite spontaneous.
2. natural; not forced. spontaneous behaviour.
sponˈtaneously adverb
sponˈtaneousness noun
spontaneity (spontəˈneiəti) , (spontəˈniːəti) noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

spontaneous

عَفَوِيّ spontánní spontan spontan αυθόρμητος espontáneo spontaani spontané spontan spontaneo 自発的な 자발적인 spontaan spontan spontaniczny espontâneo спонтанный spontan ซึ่งกระทำเองโดยทันที kendiliğinden tự phát 自发的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

spon·ta·ne·ous

a. espontáneo-a.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

spontaneous

adj espontáneo
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
The possibility of what is called spontaneous combustion has been denied since the death of Mr.
The growth of the intellect is spontaneous in every expansion.
Were they not the subtlest creations of the age in which Gothic art was spontaneous? In truth, we have had instances of workmen, who, through long, large, [108] devoted study of the handiwork of the past, have done the thing better, with a more fully enlightened consciousness, with full intelligence of what those early workmen only guessed at.
Perhaps, indeed, had she known of her father's arrival at Upton, it might have been more difficult to have persuaded her; for as to Jones, she had, I am afraid, no great horror at the thoughts of being overtaken by him; nay, to confess the truth, I believe she rather wished than feared it; though I might honestly enough have concealed this wish from the reader, as it was one of those secret spontaneous emotions of the soul to which the reason is often a stranger.
The reader will here find no regions cursed with irremediable barrenness, or blessed with spontaneous fecundity, no perpetual gloom or unceasing sunshine; nor are the nations here described either devoid of all sense of humanity, or consummate in all private and social virtues; here are no Hottentots without religion, polity, or articulate language, no Chinese perfectly polite, and completely skilled in all sciences: he will discover, what will always be discovered by a diligent and impartial inquirer, that wherever human nature is to be found there is a mixture of vice and virtue, a contest of passion and reason, and that the Creator doth not appear partial in his distributions, but has balanced in most countries their particular inconveniences by particular favours.
--Towards the golden marvel, the spontaneous bark, and its master: he, however, is the vintager who waiteth with the diamond vintage-knife,--
You might almost say, that this strange uncompromisedness in him involved a sort of unintelligence; for in his numerous trades, he did not seem to work so much by reason or by instinct, or simply because he had been tutored to it, or by any intermixture of all these, even or uneven; but merely by a kind of deaf and dumb, spontaneous literal process.
The sudden, spontaneous agility with which he bounded aboard right off the rail afforded me the first glimpse of his real character.
Almost all day long the house resounded with their running feet, their cries, and their spontaneous laughter.
He bubbled with enthusiasms, and his faintest smile or lightest laugh seemed spontaneous and genuine.
Some of them, it will be found, may be imputable to peculiar circumstances connected with the war; but the greater part of them may be considered as the spontaneous shoots of an ill-constituted government.
She shuddered at the unprovoked wrath which blazed up like the spontaneous kindling of flames and she grew faint at the fearful merriment raging miserably around her.