instinct
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,083 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 8,555 times across 139,755 chapters — 0.004% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli also: inherent aptitude the spawning instinct in salmonaltruistic instincts in social animals
adjective
- (followed by `with') deeply filled or permeated also: replete imbued with the spirit of the Reformationwords instinct with love
instinct in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Master Oliver guessed this by instinct, as children always do.
Christian's Mistake · Dinah Maria Mulock Craik · Chapter 1
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Bobby hesitated, fighting back his feeling of repulsion, his first instinct to refuse.
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1
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Not from any predatory instinct, but to save appearances, I took a gun.
In the Wilderness · Charles Dudley Warner · Chapter 1
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The love of mimetic representation, either as a participant or as a spectator, is an ineradicable instinct of childhood and adolescence.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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And, with the unerring instinct of the woman who loves, she calculated the moment when Marius would appear in Rue St. Gilles.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1