as in tendencies
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 instincts
Jon grabbed the attention of community leaders and spurred a very important conversation long before the Great Recession proved his instincts to be right on target.
—
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
When parents do not allow children to learn through mistakes, kids lose chances to practice judgment, resilience, and don’t build up trust in their own instincts.
—Janelle Jones, Parents, 28 Jan. 2026
The album’s 30 minutes of bangers are dynamic enough to hold your attention, led by a performer with classic instincts and a few tricks up his sleeve.
—Tomás Gauna, Pitchfork, 28 Jan. 2026
The podcast leans into Povich's reporting instincts, giving him space to talk openly about his own experiences.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Challenge conventional hustle culture, true entrepreneurial success comes from building businesses around natural strengths, instincts, and flow states.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
As exciting as some of the AI bull cases are, most of them rely on humans suddenly abandoning all of their selfish instincts and deciding to work together.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026
Violent hands and elite diagnostic instincts are his weapons of choice.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
While the plan didn’t pan out, Scott’s multidisciplinary instincts were present from the start.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 21 Jan. 2026
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
When parents do not allow children to learn through mistakes, kids lose chances to practice judgment, resilience, and don’t build up trust in their own instincts.
—Janelle Jones, Parents, 28 Jan. 2026
The album’s 30 minutes of bangers are dynamic enough to hold your attention, led by a performer with classic instincts and a few tricks up his sleeve.
—Tomás Gauna, Pitchfork, 28 Jan. 2026
The podcast leans into Povich's reporting instincts, giving him space to talk openly about his own experiences.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Challenge conventional hustle culture, true entrepreneurial success comes from building businesses around natural strengths, instincts, and flow states.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
As exciting as some of the AI bull cases are, most of them rely on humans suddenly abandoning all of their selfish instincts and deciding to work together.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026
Violent hands and elite diagnostic instincts are his weapons of choice.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
While the plan didn’t pan out, Scott’s multidisciplinary instincts were present from the start.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instincts
Noun
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What Don’t Be Dumb does effectively, however, is reestablish Rocky’s auteur-ish tendencies for 2020s hip-hop, drawing throughline between his mixtape days and the raucous, rage-minded sounds that course through much of contemporary rap.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
29 Jan. 2026
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To tap into each other’s tendencies, to establish chemistry as pick-and-roll partners.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The college serves an additional 3,253 professional skills training students through workforce development, job training, adult education and other programs.—
Edward McKinnon,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
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South Africa faced a skills shortage and business bankruptcies soared.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The trick is to select a paint color that is calming and neutral enough so as not to be too visually demanding, while also speaking to your personal style and color inclinations.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
19 Jan. 2026
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Ramírez attended the Liceo Fermín Toro, a public school with a reputation for revolutionary politics and catering to high-society families of slightly bohemian inclinations.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Mars meeting up with Pluto ignites the heart’s raw impulses.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
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The movie’s strongest sequences arrive in the second half, once Aaron begins to shed his most selfish impulses and gets up the nerve to pursue therapy.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Celtics pounded the paint with Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, a pair of bruising bigs who also can force the issue from 3-point range despite their lumbering dispositions.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
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What unites these diverse examples is that skills are not traits or dispositions but learnable forms of know-how, visible in consistent performance and increasingly efficient execution over time.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instincts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instincts. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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