/
spɒnˈteɪnɪəs/
adj.
- performed or occurring as a result of an unpremeditated inner impulse and without external stimulus.
▸(of a process or event) occurring without apparent external cause.
▸Biology (of movement or activity) instinctive or involuntary.
- open, natural, and uninhibited.
- archaic (of a plant) growing naturally and without being tended or cultivated.
Derivative
- spontaneity
/spɒntəˈneɪɪti/
n. - spontaneously adv.
Etymology
C17: from late L. spontaneus (from (sua) sponte ‘of (one's) own accord’) + -ous.