spontaneous

views updated Jun 27 2018

spon·ta·ne·ous / spänˈtānēəs/ • adj. performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus: the audience broke into spontaneous applause a spontaneous display of affection. ∎  (of a person) having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner. ∎  (of a process or event) occurring without apparent external cause: spontaneous miscarriages. ∎ archaic (of a plant) growing naturally and without being tended or cultivated. ∎  Biol. (of movement or activity in an organism) instinctive or involuntary: the spontaneous mechanical activity of circular smooth muscle.DERIVATIVES: spon·ta·ne·i·ty / ˌspäntəˈnēitē; -ˈnā-/ n.spon·ta·ne·ous·ly adv.

spontaneous

views updated Jun 11 2018

spontaneous spontaneous combustion the ignition of organic matter (e.g. hay or coal) without apparent cause, typically through heat generated internally by rapid oxidation. Alleged reports of human death caused by such a phenomenon have long been the subject of controversy.
spontaneous generation the supposed production of living organisms from non-living matter, as inferred from the apparent appearance of life in some infusions. Also called abiogenesis.

spontaneous

views updated May 11 2018

spontaneous (spon-tay-niŭs) adj. arising without apparent cause or outside aid. The term is applied in medicine to certain conditions, such as pathological fractures, that arise in the absence of outside injury.

spontaneous

views updated May 29 2018

spontaneous XVII. f. late L. spontāneus, f. L. (suā) sponte of (one's) own accord
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