instinct
B2Neutral to Formal
Definition
Meaning
A natural, innate, and often unconscious tendency to behave in a specific way, driven by biological or psychological factors rather than conscious reasoning.
A natural ability or talent for something; a deep-seated intuition or impulse.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word often implies an action or feeling that is automatic, primal, and not learned. It can be used for animals (biological) and humans (psychological/intuitive). The adjective 'instinctive' and adverb 'instinctively' are more common in everyday speech than the noun.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Pronunciation differs (see IPA).
Connotations
Equally neutral in both varieties.
Frequency
Comparable frequency in both corpora.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
have an instinct for sthinstinct tells sb (that)...do sth by/from/out of instinctinstinct for doing sthact on instinctVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Gut instinct”
- “Follow your instincts”
- “A killer instinct”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to intuitive decision-making, e.g., 'She has a good business instinct for market trends.'
Academic
Used in psychology, biology, and sociology to discuss innate behaviors versus learned ones.
Everyday
Commonly used for feelings or immediate reactions, e.g., 'My first instinct was to run.'
Technical
In ethology: a fixed action pattern triggered by a specific stimulus.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- (Obsolete/archaic) Not used as a verb in modern English.
American English
- (Obsolete/archaic) Not used as a verb in modern English.
adverb
British English
- (None. The adverb is 'instinctively'.)
American English
- (None. The adverb is 'instinctively'.)
adjective
British English
- (Rare/archaic) 'The instinct wisdom of the body.' This use is largely obsolete. The standard adjective is 'instinctive' or 'instinctual'.
American English
- (Rare/archaic) Same as British. Modern use is 'instinctive'.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Cats have a strong hunting instinct.
- Babies cry by instinct when they are hungry.
- My instinct told me he was not telling the truth.
- She has a natural instinct for working with children.
- Despite the danger, his survival instinct compelled him to fight.
- Good journalists often rely on their gut instinct to find a story.
- The politician's instinct for public sentiment proved uncannily accurate, guiding her campaign strategy.
- He argued that altruism, far from being purely learned, may have roots in a biological instinct.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a STINK bug. Its INSTINCT when threatened is to release a stinky smell. Your INSTINCT is your automatic, built-in reaction.
Conceptual Metaphor
INSTINCT IS AN INTERNAL GUIDE/VOICE (e.g., 'My instinct told me to avoid it.'); INSTINCT IS A FORCE (e.g., 'He was driven by pure instinct.')
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation with 'инстинкт' for all contexts. Russian 'инстинкт' is more strictly biological. For 'gut feeling' or 'intuition,' consider 'предчувствие' or 'интуиция'. 'Инстинктивно' is a good match for 'instinctively'.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'instinct' (noun) with 'instinctive' (adj). Incorrect: 'He is very instinct.' Correct: 'He is very instinctive.' | Using 'instinctively' as an adjective. Incorrect: 'an instinctively reaction.' Correct: 'an instinctive reaction.'
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the closest synonym to 'instinct' in the sentence: 'His instinct was to protect his family.'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
They are close synonyms and often used interchangeably. However, 'instinct' often emphasises a biological, primal origin (animal instinct), while 'intuition' suggests a quicker, unconscious form of reasoning or perception, often seen as more uniquely human.
They are largely synonymous. 'Instinctive' is far more common and general. 'Instinctual' is used more in technical, especially psychoanalytic, contexts to refer to drives (e.g., Freud's instinctual drives). For most purposes, 'instinctive' is the preferred choice.
No, not in modern English. There is an archaic verb form ('to instinct' meaning to impress or inform) but it is obsolete. The related actions are expressed with 'act instinctively' or 'have an instinct for'.
It's a very common idiom meaning an immediate, intuitive feeling or reaction about something, often without conscious logical reasoning. It emphasises the visceral, physical nature of the feeling.
Collections
Part of a collection
Abstract Thinking
B2 · 49 words · Words for ideas, reasoning and intellectual concepts.