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
Yu has a naturally deft command of tone and storytelling, and his past collaboration with director Bong Joon Ho appears to have helped boost his instincts.
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Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
Barron is a good skater with a decent shot and strong offensive instincts, but his game in his own end has suffered from moments of indecision and a lack of assertiveness in killing plays, leading to extended shifts in the defensive zone.
—Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
Trump himself has shown his age and disastrous instincts in multiple ways, wasting precious political capital on transparently absurd personnel choices like Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
Primarily a box-to-box midfielder with a relentless engine and combative instincts, Gomez demonstrated his eye for goal with a spectacular effort past Alisson to earn Paraguay their first victory over Brazil in 16 years in a World Cup qualifier in October.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for instinct 
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
Barron is a good skater with a decent shot and strong offensive instincts, but his game in his own end has suffered from moments of indecision and a lack of assertiveness in killing plays, leading to extended shifts in the defensive zone.
—Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
Trump himself has shown his age and disastrous instincts in multiple ways, wasting precious political capital on transparently absurd personnel choices like Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
Primarily a box-to-box midfielder with a relentless engine and combative instincts, Gomez demonstrated his eye for goal with a spectacular effort past Alisson to earn Paraguay their first victory over Brazil in 16 years in a World Cup qualifier in October.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for instinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinct
Noun
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Loss Aversion And The Endowment Effect Loss aversion refers to the tendency to feel the pain of losses more acutely than the pleasure of equivalent gains.Wayne Anderman, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
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Between the rapid cycle of internet culture and the tendency to get caught up in our own feeds, even the most chronically online of us can miss a big moment or two.Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2024
Noun
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What skills will have the most impact on your business goals?Sho Dewan, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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Read more on Negotiation strategies or related topics Negotiating skills, Persuasion, Trustworthiness, Interpersonal skills, Organizational culture, Interpersonal communication and Behavioral science A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2025 issue of Harvard Business Review.Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 21 Dec. 2024
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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The judge asked that a plan for the disposition of the Infowars assets be submitted within 30 days.Todd Spangler, Variety, 11 Dec. 2024
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Judge Robert Pitman of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas will be in charge of the final disposition, Bloomberg Law reports.Skyler Caruso, People.com, 4 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Instinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinct. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
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