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
Now, the instinct for many people were to kind of brush off these comments.
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Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
Biden's instincts all along were to side with the union, two U.S. officials said.
—Ellen Nakashima, arkansasonline.com, 6 Jan. 2025
The next time a famous woman, or any woman, is getting publicly trashed, check whether your automatic instinct is to disbelieve her.
—Nicole Page, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2025
If you’ve been laid off, your first instinct might be to send out hundreds of resumes in search of a similar role.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for instinct 
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
Biden's instincts all along were to side with the union, two U.S. officials said.
—Ellen Nakashima, arkansasonline.com, 6 Jan. 2025
The next time a famous woman, or any woman, is getting publicly trashed, check whether your automatic instinct is to disbelieve her.
—Nicole Page, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2025
If you’ve been laid off, your first instinct might be to send out hundreds of resumes in search of a similar role.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
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The most popular and publicized offering from these ovens was surely the Radar Deep Dish Pie, a sweet treat that many Arkansans remember for its tendency to burn the roof of one's mouth.Mike Keckhaver), arkansasonline.com, 11 Jan. 2025
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At the same time, vendors with a wide customer base are somewhat shielded from competition due to the user adoption effect, which is driven by the tendency of users to resist switching from a familiar interface to an unfamiliar one.Evgeny Grigul, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The phenomenally talented Buster Keaton stars and co-directs this action-adventure-comedy that has a little bit of something for everyone, and is really a great introduction to people who may not be familiar with Keaton’s remarkable skills.Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
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Having a boss who lacks communication skills is difficult.Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Brazilian has a natural inclination to go roaming in search of the ball even when fielded as a No 8 and Newcastle’s success under Howe had been delivered with Guimaraes as the orchestrator-in-chief.Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
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The upswing can also be seen in the growing inclination towards classic models such as the ClarksWallabee—certainly influenced by the flare around nautical shoes—or the coveted Salomon XT-6.Teresa Romero Martínez, Glamour, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Various progressive impulses and reforms of the Roosevelt and Wilson eras, New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, and above all, the Black Freedom Struggle built on and descended from this civic populist legacy.Harry Boyte and Trygve Throntveit, TIME, 4 Jan. 2025
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This condition has caused impairments in judgment, reasoning, memory, and behavior, including poor impulse control.Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In the disposition of Warriors superstar Steph Curry.Marcus Thompson II, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
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No Ju-han/Netflix Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan): Gi-hun's childhood friend with a military background and kind disposition.Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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