a natural tendency to behave in a particular way that people and animals are born with and that they obey without knowing why. For example the maternal instinct is a woman’s natural tendency to behave like a mother
a natural ability to know what to do in a particular situation
My first instinct was to turn and run.
Potentialinvestorswant to know that you’ve gotstrongentrepreneurialinstincts.
trust/follow your instincts:
It’s always best to trust your instincts.
instinct tells/warns you:
Instincttold me that it would be unwise to returnhome.
Synonyms and related words
Skill, talent and ability
experience
ability
skill
Collocates
Verbs frequently used with instinct as the object
▪ follow, ignore, obey, trust
instinct
noun countable/uncountable
US /ˈɪnstɪŋkt/
Other entries for this word
homing instinctnoun
killer instinctnoun
gut feeling/instinctphrase
Word Forms
singular
instinct
plural
instincts
DEFINITIONS2
1
a natural tendency to behave in a particular way that people and animals are born with and that they obey without knowing why. For example the maternal instinct is a woman’s natural tendency to behave like a mother