spontaneous

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin sponte

Proto-Indo-European *-nós

Proto-Italic *-nos

Latin -nus

Latin -ānus

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.

Proto-Indo-European *-éyos

Proto-Italic *-ejos

Proto-Italic *-eos

Latin -eus

Latin -āneus

Late Latin spontāneuslbor.

English spontaneous

Learned borrowing from Late Latin spontāneus.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /spɒnˈteɪ.ni.əs/
(US) IPA^(key): /spɑnˈteɪ.ni.əs/
Hyphenation: spon‧ta‧ne‧ous
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -eɪniəs

Adjective

spontaneous (comparative more spontaneous, superlative most spontaneous)

Self-directed; happening or acting without external cause or instigation; proceeding from natural feeling, temperament, or momentary impulse.
Synonyms: autonomous, automatic, involuntary, natural, unforced

Antonyms: induced, stimulated, voluntary

He made a spontaneous offer of help.
- 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman‎^[1], J. Johnson:
  Lady Bertram agreed to it all with a calm “Yes”; and at the end of a quarter of an hour’s silent consideration spontaneously observed, “Sir Thomas, I have been thinking—and I am very glad we took Fanny as we did, for now the others are away we feel the good of it.”
Done by one's own free choice, or without planning.
Synonyms: impulsive, extemporaneous, unpremeditated, unprompted

Antonyms: calculated, deliberate, planned, premeditated
- 2015 May 7, A. O. Scott, “Review: ‘Saint Laurent,’ Beautiful People, High Fashion and Career at Its Pinnacle”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 September 2019:
  YSL, as he is often called, is equally capable of casual, aristocratic cruelty and earthy, spontaneous tenderness, and when you study his face it can be hard to distinguish boredom from rapture.
Controlled and directed internally; self-active; spontaneous movement characteristic of living things.
Produced without being planted or without human cultivation or labor.
- 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, chapter 106, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume IV, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
  He persisted in his design; and, because he would not make his wants known, actually subsisted for several days on hips, haws and sloes, and other spontaneous fruits which he gathered in the woods and fields.
Sudden, without warning.
Said or done without prior planning or prior writing.
Synonym: unwritten

He made a spontaneous remarks in the court.

Synonyms: abrupt, precipitous, subitaneous; see also Thesaurus:sudden

Derived terms

Translations

self generated; happening without any apparent external cause

Assamese: স্বতঃস্ফুৰ্ট (sotohsphurt)
Bulgarian: самопроизво́лен (samoproizvólen)
Catalan: espontani (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 自发的
Czech: spontánní (cs)
Dutch: spontaan (nl)
Esperanto: spontanea, spontana (eo)
Finnish: spontaani (fi)
French: spontané (fr), volontaire (fr)
Galician: ventureiro (gl)
German: spontan (de)
Greek: αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos), εθελοντικός (el) (ethelontikós)
Ancient Greek: αὐτόματος (autómatos)
Hungarian: spontán (hu)
Italian: spontaneo (it)
Latin: spontāneus
Macedonian: спо́нтан (spóntan)
Malay: spontan
Māori: tene
Norwegian:
Bokmål: spontan (no)

Nynorsk: spontan
Polish: spontaniczny (pl), samorzutny (pl) (physics, chemistry)
Portuguese: espontâneo (pt)
Romanian: spontan (ro)
Russian: спонта́нный (ru) (spontánnyj), самопроизво́льный (ru) (samoproizvólʹnyj)
Serbo-Croatian: spȍntān (sh)
Spanish: espontáneo (es)
Swedish: spontan (sv)
Tagalog: kusa (tl)
Turkish: kendiliğinden (tr), spontan (tr)
Ukrainian: спонта́нний (spontánnyj), мимові́льний (mymovílʹnyj)

done by one's own free choice, or without planning

Bulgarian: спонтанен (bg) (spontanen)
Czech: spontánní (cs)
Finnish: spontaani (fi), oma-aloitteinen (fi), omaehtoinen (fi)
French: spontané (fr)
Galician: espontáneo (gl)
German: spontan (de)
Greek: αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos), αβίαστος (el) (avíastos)
Hungarian: spontán (hu)
Italian: spontaneo (it)
Latin: extemporālis
Macedonian: добро́волен (dobróvolen)
Māori: tene
Polish: spontaniczny (pl)
Portuguese: espontâneo (pt)
Romanian: spontan (ro)
Russian: доброво́льный (ru) (dobrovólʹnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: saor-thoileach
Serbo-Croatian: spȍntān (sh)
Swedish: spontan (sv)

proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external constraint

Assamese: সহজাত (xohozat)
Bulgarian: непринуден (bg) (neprinuden)
Catalan: espontani (ca)
Czech: spontánní (cs)
French: spontané (fr)
Greek: αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos), πηγαίος (el) (pigaíos), ενστικτώδης (el) (enstiktódis)
Macedonian: непри́нуден (neprínuden)
Māori: tene
Serbo-Croatian: spȍntān (sh)
Spanish: espontáneo (es)
Swedish: spontan (sv)

arising from a momentary impulse

Bulgarian: спонтанен (bg) (spontanen)
Catalan: espontani (ca)
Czech: impulzivní
Finnish: impulsiivinen (fi)
French: impulsif (fr)
Greek: παρορμητικός (el) (parormitikós), αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos)
Macedonian: спо́нтан (spóntan)
Māori: ohia
Serbo-Croatian: spȍntān (sh), ȉmpulzīvan (sh)
Spanish: espontáneo (es)
Swedish: spontan (sv)

controlled and directed internally

French: réflexe (fr)
Greek: ακούσιος (el) (akoúsios)
Swedish: reflexmässig (sv)

produced without being planted or without human labor

Bulgarian: естествен (bg) (estestven)
Finnish: luonnollinen (fi)
French: indigène (fr), endémique (fr)
Galician: ventureiro (gl)
Macedonian: при́роден (príroden)

not apparently contrived or manipulated

Finnish: spontaani (fi)
French: naturel (fr), spontané (fr)
Greek: αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos), φυσικός (el) (fysikós)

random — see random

sudden, without warning

Bulgarian: внезапен (bg) (vnezapen)
Finnish: yllättävä (fi), äkillinen (fi)
French: soudain (fr)
Greek: ξαφνικός (el) (xafnikós)
Hungarian: spontán (hu)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: plutselig (no)

Nynorsk: plutseleg
Persian: خود جوش، داوطلبانه، ناگهانی

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} spontaan (nl)
Spanish: ^{(please verify)} espontáneo (es)