What does spontaneous mean?
Word: Spontaneous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Spontaneous means done or happening suddenly and naturally, because you feel like it at that moment rather than as part of an arrangement.
Synonyms: unprompted, spur-of-the-moment, unrehearsed
Antonyms: deliberate, calculated
How do you spell spontaneous?
Syllables: spon - ta - ne - ous
Tricky part: The ending is eous. Spontanious, with an i, is by far the most common mistake.
Watch out for: spontanious, spontaneus, spontanous
Memory tip: Courteous, gorgeous and spontaneous all keep an e before ous, so do not let it turn into an i.
Spontaneous in a sentence
Example 1: Our trip to the beach was spontaneous: we packed sandwiches and left in ten minutes.
Example 2: His spontaneous joke made even the strict examiner smile.
Example 3: When the lights came back on, there was a spontaneous cheer from the whole hostel.
Fun Fact
Spontaneous comes from the Latin sponte, of your own accord, and has been used in English since the 1600s.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
sp_nt_neous
a) o, a
b) u, e
c) a, a
d) o, e
Show answer
a) o, a. The first gap takes the o of spon and the second the a of ta: spon-ta-ne-ous.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word spontaneous as it is used in the sentence:
The audience broke into spontaneous applause when the little drummer finished his solo.
a) unplanned
b) impulsive
c) instant
d) planned
Show answer
d) planned. Unplanned, impulsive and instant all describe applause nobody arranged; planned is its opposite.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Her notpesaonus decision to sing on stage surprised her shy friends.
a) strenuous
b) spontaneous
c) sumptuous
d) poisonous
Show answer
b) spontaneous. Sumptuous needs an m, strenuous an r and poisonous an i; the jumble has none of these.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. audiance 2. rehersal 3. enthusiasum 4. spontaneous
a) acting on a sudden urge rather than a plan
b) great excitement and interest
c) the people who watch a show
d) a practice before a performance
Show answer
a) acting on a sudden urge rather than a plan. Enthusiasm ends in asm, rehearsal keeps the ear of hear, and audience ends in ence.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the event most likely to be spontaneous.
a) a school's yearly timetable
b) a burst of laughter at a joke
c) a speech read from notes
d) a dance rehearsed for weeks
Show answer
b) a burst of laughter at a joke
2. When damp hay heats up and bursts into flame by itself, it is called spontaneous ____.
a) erosion
b) combustion
c) evaporation
d) condensation
Show answer
b) combustion
