as in tendency
a usually innate ability or desire to perform a specific activity
Pouncing on mice is a cat's natural instinct. We needed all of our survival instincts to make it through the weeks lost at sea.
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Recent Examples of instinct
Your instinct to switch gears kicks up under the last quarter moon in Aries.
—
Usa Today, USA Today, 17 July 2025
Thirty years in state government sharpened her instincts.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2025
Let your instincts do the legwork as the moon meets Uranus.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 July 2025
Clean tech is too important—and too complex—to rely on instinct alone.
—Michele Demers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Usa Today, USA Today, 17 July 2025
Thirty years in state government sharpened her instincts.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2025
Let your instincts do the legwork as the moon meets Uranus.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 July 2025
Clean tech is too important—and too complex—to rely on instinct alone.
—Michele Demers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
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Because many young parents grew up at a time when diseases like measles were not common, there can be a tendency to not recognize their seriousness.—
Andrew Montequin,
jsonline.com,
22 July 2025
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According to this report, such a tendency creates a false sense of immediacy, which can have a negative impact of real social relationships.—
Eric Wood,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
-
As this technology improves, the gap between human skill and robotic precision will continue to shrink.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
19 July 2025
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But Williams didn’t set a high enough bar in her only skills challenge round.—
Ben Pickman,
New York Times,
19 July 2025
Noun
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At a June 5 press conference, one day after the General Assembly closed the regular 2024 session, the governor gave his strongest indication to date of an inclination to seek another four-year term with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
3 July 2025
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At the Soul Train Awards in 1997, Da Brat arrived outfitted in a similarly referential look, but her look evoked tomboy inclinations.—
Julian Randall,
Essence,
3 July 2025
Noun
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That first impulse to vent or demand immediate action is rarely your friend.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Muscle Stimulation — Ayers and her fellow NASA flight engineer Anne McClain used electrodes to send electrical impulses into Ayers' legs as a possible countermeasure to muscle atrophy.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
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In this sense, Skeptical Intelligence can be thought of as a disposition for critical thinking applied rigorously to the modern data and AI landscape.—
Ted Ladd,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
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Was that what gave me a British disposition according to Joya’s parents?—
Jhumpa Lahiri,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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