ENGLISH
REFERENCE

spontaneous

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //spɑnˈteɪniəs// UK //spɒntˈeɪniəs// spon·ta·neous

adj. happening naturally or suddenly without being planned in advance. You use this to describe someone who acts on their feelings in the moment.

adj. occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus. Often describes human behaviour or physical processes that happen without an obvious trigger.


SIMPLE

We took a spontaneous trip to the beach today.

CONTEXTUAL

The crowd broke into spontaneous applause when the young musician finished her difficult solo.

COMPLEX

While some researchers argue that the chemical reaction was spontaneous, others believe it was catalyzed by trace amounts of minerals present in the water supply.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

Learned borrowing from Late Latin spontāneus.

Usage

Often follows a linking verb like 'be' or 'become'; can also modify nouns directly.

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