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
Pigeons have an extraordinary ability to find their nests despite traveling vast distances, a homing instinct so reliable it was first used in ancient Egypt and was still being relied upon by militaries as recently as World War II.
—
Sharyn Alfonsi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
But instinct kicked in swiftly, and many of the journalists in the crowd of 2,600 people were using their phones to capture video.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Taaffe’s instincts, toughness and football character are off the charts.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
His instincts are second to none.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Sharyn Alfonsi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
But instinct kicked in swiftly, and many of the journalists in the crowd of 2,600 people were using their phones to capture video.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Taaffe’s instincts, toughness and football character are off the charts.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
His instincts are second to none.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
-
There's generally a tendency for organizations to focus too much on measuring or tracking input or activity, as opposed to output.—
Kristina Rex,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
His playoff history and tendency to let up weak goals do raise some red flags.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Children ages 4-13 can hone their lightsaber skills and sip on non-alcoholic teal lemonade.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
-
These include performance overheads for complex tasks or workloads that need to be completed with low latency, as well as filling in skills gaps for software developers who have no FHE knowledge or experience.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The inclination is not to pay, according to Alisha Rayner, the city’s director of operations and communications.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The 11 satellites on board are flying to a mid-inclination orbit.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The situation stems from the commendable liberal impulse to devote extensive resources to public education.—
Marc Novicoff,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
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Because at its core, this legal drama that revolves around artificial intelligence is actually rooted in the very human impulses of kinship, greed, betrayal, and power.—
Tom Dotan,
Vanity Fair,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Burke has rare size at nearly 6-foot-9, and a nasty disposition to match.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The survey presented over 1,500 American adults in a nationally representative sample with the definitions of six legal methods of disposition in a random order.—
Tanya D. Marsh,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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