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Spontaneous vs Instinct - What's the difference?

spontaneous | instinct |

As adjectives the difference between spontaneous and instinct

is that spontaneous is self-generated; happening without any apparent external cause while instinct is imbued, charged ({{term|with}} something).

As a noun instinct is

a natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

spontaneous

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Self-generated; happening without any apparent external cause.
    • He made a spontaneous offer of help.
  • Done by one's own free choice, or without planning.
  • proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external or conscious constraint
  • arising from a momentary impulse
  • controlled and directed internally; self-active; spontaneous movement characteristic of living things
  • produced without being planted or without human labor]]; [[endemic, indigenous
    • a spontaneous growth of wood
  • Random.
  • Sudden, without warning.

    • Synonyms

    * (self-generated) autonomous * (sense, done by one's own free choice) autonomous * autonomous

    Derived terms

    * spontaneousity

    Related terms

    * spontaneous combustion

    instinct

    English

    (wikipedia instinct)

    Noun

  • A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.
    • Many animals fear fire by instinct .
  • * Shakespeare
    • By a divine instinct , men's minds mistrust / Ensuing dangers.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1921 , title= , author=Bertrand Russell , passage=In spite of these qualifications, the broad distinction between instinct and habit is undeniable. To take extreme cases, every animal at birth can take food by instinct, before it has had opportunity to learn; on the other hand, no one can ride a bicycle by instinct, though, after learning, the necessary movements become just as automatic as if they were instinctive.}}
  • An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.
    • an instinct''' for order; to be modest by '''instinct
    Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.

    Derived terms

    * instinctively * instinctive

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (archaic) Imbued, charged ((with) something).
  • * Milton
    • The chariot of paternal deity / Itself instinct with spirit, but convoyed / By four cherubic shapes.
  • * Brougham
    • a noble performance, instinct with sound principle
  • * 1928 , (HP Lovecraft), ‘The Call of Cthulhu’:
    • This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters.

    External links

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