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
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Kormákur is an Icelandic filmmaker whose breakout was the 2006 crime drama Jar City and who has a tendency to bounce around both genres and continents.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
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In 2024, Julie Aitken Schermer, a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, published a paper that showed drivers who modified their exhaust systems to be louder were more likely to have psychopathic and sadist tendencies.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This enthusiasm for space and executive leadership skills could be the right combination to get the Artemis program back on a schedule.—
Thomas Black,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Tate is a technician with good length and ball skills to finish plays.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And yes, Rick and Emily, huge allies, love working with them, no inclination of wanting to turn on them.—
Terry Terrones,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
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Lawlor’s book contains chapters devoted to politics, but her inclination to reach for examples of the reasonable and unreasonable that any reader will intuitively share serves her less well here.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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While Siegel and others seem to want more teen pregnancies, Steiner argues that efforts to reduce teen births are often borne from the same impulse.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
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This is also true in the Christian world, where the impulse to use your hands has a distinct theological flavor to it.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Burke has rare size at nearly 6-foot-9, and a nasty disposition to match.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
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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 28 Apr. 2026.
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