Spontaneous

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spontaneous \Spon*ta"ne*ous\ (sp[o^]n*t[=a]"n[-e]*[u^]s), a. [L.
     spontaneus, fr. sponte of free will, voluntarily.]
     1. Proceeding from natural feeling, temperament, or
        disposition, or from a native internal proneness,
        readiness, or tendency, without constraint; as, a
        spontaneous gift or proposition.


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     2. Proceeding from, or acting by, internal impulse, energy,
        or natural law, without external force; as, spontaneous
        motion; spontaneous growth.
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     3. Produced without being planted, or without human labor;
        as, a spontaneous growth of wood.
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     {Spontaneous combustion}, combustion produced in a substance
        by the evolution of heat through the chemical action of
        its own elements; as, the spontaneous combustion of waste
        matter saturated with oil.
  
     {Spontaneous generation}. (Biol.) See under {Generation}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Voluntary; uncompelled; willing.
  
     Usage: {Spontaneous}, {Voluntary}. What is voluntary is the
            result of a volition, or act of choice; it therefore
            implies some degree of consideration, and may be the
            result of mere reason without excited feeling. What is
            spontaneous springs wholly from feeling, or a sudden
            impulse which admits of no reflection; as, a
            spontaneous burst of applause. Hence, the term is also
            applied to things inanimate when they are produced
            without the determinate purpose or care of man.
            "Abstinence which is but voluntary fasting, and . . .
            exercise which is but voluntary labor." --J. Seed.
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                  Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play,
                  The soul adopts, and owns their firstborn away.
                                                    --Goldsmith.
            [1913 Webster] -- {Spon*ta"ne*ous*ly}, adv. --
            {Spon*ta"ne*ous*ness}, n.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  spontaneous
       adj 1: happening or arising without apparent external cause;
              "spontaneous laughter"; "spontaneous combustion"; "a
              spontaneous abortion" [syn: {self-generated}] [ant: {induced}]
       2: said or done without having been planned or written in
          advance; "he made a few ad-lib remarks" [syn: {ad-lib}, {unwritten}]
       3: produced without being planted or without human labor; "wild
          strawberries" [syn: {wild}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  119 Moby Thesaurus words for "spontaneous":
     ad lib, arbitrary, automated, automatic, automatous, autonomous,
     bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, casual, club, cybernated,
     discretional, discretionary, elective, extemporaneous, extempore,
     free, free will, gratuitous, gut, ill-advised, ill-considered,
     ill-devised, immediate, impetuous, impromptu, improvised,
     impulsive, inadvertent, indeliberate, independent, inherent,
     innate, instinctive, instinctual, involuntary, libidinal, mace,
     mechanical, natural, nightstick, nonmandatory, off the cuff,
     offered, offhand, optional, proffered, reflex, reflexive,
     self-acting, self-active, self-adjusting, self-closing,
     self-controlled, self-cooking, self-determined, self-determining,
     self-directed, self-directing, self-dumping, self-governed,
     self-governing, self-lighting, self-operative, self-regulative,
     self-starting, self-winding, self-working, semiautomatic, simple,
     snap, spontoon, spur-of-the-moment, subliminal, truncheon,
     unadvised, unannounced, unasked, unbesought, unbidden,
     uncalculated, uncalled-for, uncoerced, uncompelled, unconscious,
     unconsidered, unconstrained, undeliberate, undeliberated,
     undesigned, unforced, unguarded, uninfluenced, unintended,
     unintentional, uninvited, unlearned, unmeditated, unplanned,
     unpremeditated, unprepared, unpressured, unprompted, unrehearsed,
     unrequested, unrequired, unsolicited, unsophisticated, unsought,
     unstudied, unthinking, unwilled, unwitting, voluntary, volunteer,
     willful