Synonyms of instinct

instinct

noun

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.

Related Words

• tendency
• skill
• inclination
• impulse
• disposition
• predisposition
• propensity
• predilection
• affinity
• bias
• penchant
• urge
• capability
• proclivity
• need
• partiality
• turn
• drive
• competence
• habitude
• power
• proficiency
• facility
• capacity
• potential
• leaning
• faculty
• talent
• aptitude
• specialty
• gift
• knack
• genius
• endowment
• flair
• forte
• speciality
• specialism
• bent
• head

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of instinct

After watching Jovic’s rise this season, Pegula praised her competitive instincts and rapid adjustment to grass. — Douglas Robson, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026

In a world of constant visibility and instant judgment, the cost of failure can feel higher than ever— the instinct is to avoid risk, protect what exists, and wait for certainty that never arrives. — Keith Krach, Fortune, 3 July 2026

Advertisement Reformers of the Progressive era shared many of these anxieties, yet their instinct was to revise rather than reject the patriotic impulse. — Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026

We are encouraged to indulge our delusions about replacement theory and white male superiority and to surrender to our instincts toward incivility and division. — Dawn M. Turner, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026