- a natural quality that makes people and animals tend to behave in a particular way using the knowledge and abilities that they were born with rather than thought or training
- She did not seem to have any of the usual maternal instincts.
- by instinct Children do not know by instinct the difference between right and wrong.
- instinct (is) to do something His first instinct was to run away.
- instinct for (doing) something Horses have a well-developed instinct for fear.
- Even at school, he showed he had an instinct for (= was naturally good at) business.
Extra ExamplesTopics Biologyc1- Artists have to learn to be guided by their instincts.
- Babies know by instinct who their mother is.
- Both superpowers shared the same instinct for self-preservation.
- He has an instinct for survival in a tough job.
- Her instincts took over and she dived on the escaping thief.
- In negotiating you have to develop an instinct for when to be tough and when to make a deal.
- They accused the campaign of appealing to the electorate's baser instincts.
- What makes all these people come to the club? In my view it's the herd instinct.
- Why don't you just follow your natural instincts?
- As a player he seemed to lack the killer instinct.
- Most people have a well-developed survival instinct.
- She has a definite instinct for business.
- The instinct for migration seems to be programmed into some birds and not others.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- deep
- powerful
- strong
- …
- have
- possess
- lack
- …
- tell somebody something
- drive somebody
- guide somebody
- …
- by instinct
- on instinct
- instinct for
- …
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- a feeling that makes you do something or believe that something is true, even though it is not based on facts or reason synonym intuition
- I've always trusted my instincts in the past.
- It's best to follow your first instincts in matters like this.
- instinct about somebody/something Her instincts about him had been right.
- instinct for… He had a gut instinct for when people were lying to him.
- on instinct I acted purely on instinct.
Extra Examples- Her instinct told her that she was being followed.
- Out of pure instinct, he moved back a little.
- Against her better instincts, she ran back into the burning house to save some of her jewellery.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- deep
- powerful
- strong
- …
- have
- possess
- lack
- …
- tell somebody something
- drive somebody
- guide somebody
- …
- by instinct
- on instinct
- instinct for
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (also in the sense ‘instigation, impulse’): from Latin instinctus ‘impulse’, from the verb instinguere, from in- ‘towards’ + stinguere ‘to prick’.
Check pronunciation:
instinct