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
-
Experience, often in multiple systems, pays off at skill positions more than ever.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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As Inside Higher Ed notes, graduates with adaptable skills often continue to grow while others plateau.—
Rasheem Rooke,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Even in the present tense, the characters express no political opinions, taste in movies and music, hobbies—or backstories that shape such inclinations.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
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Mamdani has thus far shown no inclination to act differently.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Have viewers themselves developed a more expansive understanding of who is entitled to be hurt, and can the network resist the impulse to edit around this friction?—
Shamira Ibrahim,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
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Be careful of sudden impulses to travel or do something unusual.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
8 Apr. 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 10 Apr. 2026.
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