instinct, inherent aptitude(adj)
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
"the spawning instinct in salmon"; "altruistic instincts in social animals"
(followed by `with')deeply filled or permeated
"imbued with the spirit of the Reformation"; "words instinct with love"; "it is replete with misery"
A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.
Many animals fear fire by instinct.
An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.
Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.
Urged or stimulated from within, infused
Origin: From instinctus, past participle of instinguere, from in + stinguere
urged or stimulated from within; naturally moved or impelled; imbued; animated; alive; quick; as, birds instinct with life
natural inward impulse; unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning prompting to any mode of action, whether bodily, or mental, without a distinct apprehension of the end or object to be accomplished
specif., the natural, unreasoning, impulse by which an animal is guided to the performance of any action, without of improvement in the method
a natural aptitude or knack; a predilection; as, an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct
to impress, as an animating power, or instinct
Origin: [L. instinctus, p. p. of instinguere to instigate, incite; cf. instigare to instigate. Cf. Instigate, Distinguish.]
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular complex behavior. The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a clearly defined stimulus. Any behavior is instinctive if it is performed without being based upon prior experience, and is therefore an expression of innate biological factors. Sea turtles, newly hatched on a beach, will automatically move toward the ocean. A joey climbs into its mother's pouch upon being born. Honeybees communicate by dancing in the direction of a food source without formal instruction. Other examples include animal fighting, animal courtship behavior, internal escape functions, and the building of nests. All of these are examples of complex behaviors and are thus substantially different from simple reflex behaviors. An instinct should be distinguished from a reflex, which is a simple response of an organism to a specific stimulus, such as the contraction of the pupil in response to bright light or the spasmodic movement of the lower leg when the knee is tapped. Instincts, in contrast, are inborn complex patterns of behavior that must exist in every member of the species and that cannot be overcome by force of will. However, the absence of volitional capacity must not be confused with an inability to modify fixed action patterns. For example, people may be able to modify a stimulated fixed action pattern by consciously recognizing the point of its activation and simply stop doing it, whereas animals without a sufficiently strong volitional capacity may not be able to disengage from their fixed action patterns, once activated.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
in′stingkt, n. impulse: an involuntary prompting to action: intuition: the mental aspect of those actions which take rank between unconscious reflex activities and intelligent conduct: the natural impulse by which animals are guided apparently independent of reason or experience.—adj. (in-stingkt′) instigated or incited: moved: animated.—adj. Instinc′tive, prompted by instinct: involuntary: acting according to or determined by natural impulse.—adv. Instinc′tively.—n. Instinctiv′ity (rare). [L. instinctus—instinguĕre, to instigate.]
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Stereotyped patterns of response, characteristic of a given species, that have been phylogenetically adapted to a specific type of situation.
British National Corpus
Rank popularity for the word 'instinct' in Nouns Frequency: #2015
The numerical value of instinct in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
The numerical value of instinct in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
Morality is herd instinct in the individual.
There is no instinct like that of the heart.
Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.
Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.
I was just doing my job, it's my instinct to help.
Images & Illustrations of instinct
Translations for instinct
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- سليقة, فطرة, غريزة, غريزهArabic
- ösztön, Hungarian
- 본능, 本能Korean
- naluri, garizah, instingMalay
- tshekameloSouthern Sotho
- sevkitabii, insiyak, içgüdüTurkish
- 本能, bản năngVietnamese
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