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
In You, Me & Tuscany, Bailey plays Anna, a young woman who follows her instincts and crashes at an empty Tuscan villa belonging to a handsome Italian, Matteo, pretending to be his fiancée as a cover story.
—
Alessandra De Tommasi, Vanity Fair, 6 Apr. 2026
Holland argues that Western secular values, such as belief in the importance of compassion, equality, and human rights, are not universal human instincts.
—John Blake, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
But that protective instinct has cost her.
—Fortesa Latifi, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
The coaching staff has seen better instincts and better reads from Vientos.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Alessandra De Tommasi, Vanity Fair, 6 Apr. 2026
Holland argues that Western secular values, such as belief in the importance of compassion, equality, and human rights, are not universal human instincts.
—John Blake, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
But that protective instinct has cost her.
—Fortesa Latifi, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
The coaching staff has seen better instincts and better reads from Vientos.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
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When an investigation like Nancy Guthrie’s passes the two-month mark, there’s a tendency to look back and reexamine all assumptions and decisions made in the first few moments.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 Apr. 2026
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New cultivars of Pyrus calleryana were bred to reduce Bradford’s tendency to split in snow or high winds.—
Campbell Vaughn,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If feedback arrives, take it as encouragement to refine, not retreat, since practice is what makes potential skills into real ones!—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Since the start of the school year, four Cristo Rey students have worked as interns to gain administrative skills and firsthand experience in how a nonprofit operates.—
Christina Mayo,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 11 satellites on board are flying to a mid-inclination orbit.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
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The natural inclination, then, might be to try to ridicule the conspiracy believer into feeling enough shame to abandon their belief, but this often only drives them toward it.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Felder understood the impulse behind the shul’s decision.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The gulls circling a beachside table or boardwalk bench aren’t acting on random impulse.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Miller’s 1968 play, written during the agonizing days of the Vietnam War, concerns the disposition of the remains of a once-illustrious estate.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Day argues that Iran hawks display a dangerous ideological disposition.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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