SPONTANEOUS

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spontaneous mean? 

• SPONTANEOUS (adjective)
  The adjective SPONTANEOUS has 2 senses:

1. happening or arising without apparent external cause

2. said or done without having been planned or written in advance

  Familiarity information: SPONTANEOUS used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPONTANEOUS (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Happening or arising without apparent external cause

Synonyms:

self-generated; spontaneous

Context example:

a spontaneous abortion

Similar:

impulsive; unprompted (proceeding from natural feeling or impulse without external stimulus)

intuitive (spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency)

instinctive; natural (unthinking; prompted by (or as if by) instinct)

Antonym:

induced (brought about or caused; not spontaneous)

Derivation:

spontaneity (the quality of being spontaneous and coming from natural feelings without constraint)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Said or done without having been planned or written in advance

Synonyms:

ad-lib; spontaneous; unwritten

Context example:

he made a few ad-lib remarks

Similar:

unscripted (not furnished with or using a script)

Derivation:

spontaneousness (the quality of being spontaneous and coming from natural feelings without constraint)

 Context examples 

A structural chromosomal abnormality caused by the spontaneous or induced breakage of a chromosome.

(Chromosome Breakage, NCI Thesaurus)

Spontaneous autoamputation of a digit, usually the fifth toe.

(Ainhum, NCI Thesaurus)

Initiates the spontaneous assembly of the late complement components, C5-C9, into the membrane attack complex.

(C5a, NCI Thesaurus)

Spontaneous tumors of anterior pituitary 30%, and of adrenal cortex 25% in older animals.

(BUF, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)

Some anticardiolipin antibodies prolong phospholipid dependent clotting while others are associated with spontaneous abortion.

(Anticardiolipin Antibody, NCI Thesaurus)

It manifests with spontaneous fractures, respiratory distress, and growth developmental delays.

(Neonatal Rickets, NCI Thesaurus)

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites occur frequently in DNA molecules by spontaneous hydrolysis, by DNA damaging agents or by DNA glycosylases that remove specific abnormal bases.

(Class II AP Endonuclease, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient seem less spontaneous and less active than usual?

(NPI - Seem Less Spontaneous and Less Active Than Usual, NCI Thesaurus)

Spontaneous thyroid carcinoma 33% (Lindsey et al 1968).

(OM, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)

It is associated with thrombosis, spontaneous abortion, and complications during labor.

(Anticardiolipin IgG Antibody, NCI Thesaurus)