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
The instinct to head back to a war zone may seem puzzling, but the reality on the ground generally isn’t as dire as the headlines suggest.
—
Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 6 Mar. 2026
But Disco’s enormous Radiohead influence is, like the auditory fingerprints of bands signed to James Murphy’s DFA Records, ultimately set dressing for pop instincts.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
McCreary has good eyes and instincts.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Reverend Jackson's instincts understood the words of James Baldwin, who said that ignorance and power alive is the most ferocious enemy of justice.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 6 Mar. 2026
But Disco’s enormous Radiohead influence is, like the auditory fingerprints of bands signed to James Murphy’s DFA Records, ultimately set dressing for pop instincts.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
McCreary has good eyes and instincts.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Reverend Jackson's instincts understood the words of James Baldwin, who said that ignorance and power alive is the most ferocious enemy of justice.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
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Kahn studies automation bias, the tendency of human operators to overdelegate to machines.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
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Tactics are often cyclical and repeated over time, but the current tendency is very much towards the former.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Flagg has showcased his playmaking skills in several ways throughout his first season in the NBA.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
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The humanoid demonstrated highly dynamic parkour skills upon being trained using the framework.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The 11 satellites on board are flying to a mid-inclination orbit.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2026
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My inclination next holiday is to continue to hand him the cookies and the card but not the cash.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There’s an impulse to craft a serene environment using pale hues and white bed sheets, but for those far from the minimalist end of the spectrum, don’t be afraid to take risks.—
Elizabeth Stamp,
Architectural Digest,
3 Mar. 2026
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Yet the tyrannical impulse of authoritarian populists is the same across the world.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But white settlers found their stubborn dispositions too unruly for domestication and their big bodies too tempting a commodity.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
5 Mar. 2026
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The disposition of the suit wasn’t clear, though Diagne’s TLC license expired in 2020, a police source said.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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