as in automatic
done instantly and without conscious thought or decision
the birds' instinctual response is to fly away when startled
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Recent Examples of instinctual
Cubs manager Craig Counsell used three main adjectives to describe the roster — athletic, experienced and instinctual — while empowering his coaching staff to draw out those strengths.
—
Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
The Cowboys could make a strong case for adding an instinctual player in the second level of their defense, and Logan Wilson is one of the most public trade candidates on the market entering the deadline.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2025
The body’s instinctual urge to breath kicks in but the mind understands that breathing results in death, Sotomayor wrote in an opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
Harrison referenced Freud’s theory of sublimation—the redirection of instinctual drives into more meaningful, productive forms.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
But with Vendrán Suaves Lluvias, Estrada is bolder, wilder, more instinctual.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2025
Jackson threw it away on fourth down, almost like an instinctual reaction of panic.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
There’s an instinctual stitching that binds its many scenes together that build to a heartwrenching ending, culminating in neither a whimper nor a bang but a welcome sigh of relief.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 28 Sep. 2025
Learning about this biological response showed me just how instinctual elimination communication is.
—Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
The Cowboys could make a strong case for adding an instinctual player in the second level of their defense, and Logan Wilson is one of the most public trade candidates on the market entering the deadline.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2025
The body’s instinctual urge to breath kicks in but the mind understands that breathing results in death, Sotomayor wrote in an opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
Harrison referenced Freud’s theory of sublimation—the redirection of instinctual drives into more meaningful, productive forms.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
But with Vendrán Suaves Lluvias, Estrada is bolder, wilder, more instinctual.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2025
Jackson threw it away on fourth down, almost like an instinctual reaction of panic.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
There’s an instinctual stitching that binds its many scenes together that build to a heartwrenching ending, culminating in neither a whimper nor a bang but a welcome sigh of relief.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 28 Sep. 2025
Learning about this biological response showed me just how instinctual elimination communication is.
—Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinctual
Adjective
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The battle for the Group of 5 automatic bid is wide open in Week 11.—
Jordan Sigler,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
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Say, for example, that a restaurant’s menu states that an automatic 18% charge will be added to all bills for parties of six or more customers.—
Cheryl Winokur Munk,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Driving through deep water can also affect a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Analysts also point out that the global supply of key components such as DRAM chips for consumer electronics, NAND flash chips for SSDs, and mechanical hard drives has all been constrained by the voracious demand from AI data centers.—
,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The piece Lee publishes isn’t a Pulitzer-winning takedown, but a posthumous profile of the reclusive, kind-hearted Dale, a man who shares Dale’s love of crime writers like Jim Thompson and instinctive empathy for underdogs.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Not home in the physical sense, but in the ancestral one — that instinctive recognition that lives in the bones.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But largely absent from the show was a pain management disorder – reflex neurovascular dystrophy, also known as complex regional pain syndrome – that Sioux has dealt with for much of her life.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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In each case, there's a recognition that some players might want to explore a game's world—to experience the characters, art, and dialogue that the developers worked so hard to craft—without struggling through mechanical reflex tests or grindy, repetitive challenges.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While spontaneous mentions of high prices increased for a fifth month, inflation expectations eased over the longer term.—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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This could look like spontaneous travel plans, shifting your career focus or even a spiritual awakening.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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For example, ads for mechanic positions were predominantly shown to men, while those for preschool teacher roles were primarily directed to women.—
Carlotta Dotto,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Donegan, who is twenty-eight, grew up in small-town Virginia, in a family that owned an assortment of local businesses—a tobacco farm, a mechanic shop, an electricity company.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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For example, China has tested a satellite with a robotic arm that can shift other satellites into a different orbit.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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There were several such facilities at the time that were developing simulation centers with very sophisticated, six-figure robotic mannequins, on which training is done in low-stress environments for nurses, physicians and other healthcare providers.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Excluding disasters, sudden surges of this magnitude in requests for food or any other need are rare at 211s, and can signal both public worry and need, as happened in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Matthew W. Kreuter,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instinctual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinctual. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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