Dictionary

instinct en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Latin īnstīnctus, past participle of īnstinguō (“to incite, to instigate”), from in (“in, on”) + stinguō (“to prick”).

Meanings

1. (archaic) Imbued, charged (with something).
   • It was a most Bedlamite catalogue of horrors, which, if true, made the wholesome moors a place instinct with tragedy. 1899, John Buchan, No Man's Land:
   • a noble performance, instinct with sound principle 1838, Henry Brougham, Historical Sketches of Statesmen Who Flourished in the Time of George III:
   • The chariot of paternal deity […] / Itself instinct with spirit, but convoyed / By four cherubic shapes. 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
   • Her eyes, whose colour I had not at first known, so dim were they with repressed tears, so shadowed with ceaseless dejection, now, lit by a ray of the sunshine that cheered her heart, revealed irids of bright hazel – irids large and full, screened with long lashes; and pupils instinct with fire. 1857, Charlotte Brontë, The Professor:
   • This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters. 1928 February, H[oward] P[hillips] Lovecraft, “The Call of Cthulhu”, in Farnsworth Wright, editor, Weird Tales: A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual, volume XI, number 2, Indianapolis, Ind.: Popular Fiction Publishing Company, →OCLC:

Forms

instinct en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Latin īnstīnctus, past participle of īnstinguō (“to incite, to instigate”), from in (“in, on”) + stinguō (“to prick”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.
   • In spite of these qualifications, the broad distinction between instinct and habit is undeniable. To take extreme cases, every animal at birth can take food by instinct, before it has had opportunity to learn; on the other hand, no one can ride a bicycle by instinct, though, after learning, the necessary movements become just as automatic as if they were instinctive. 1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind:
   • By a divine instinct, men's minds mistrust / Ensuing dangers. c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
   • Many animals fear fire by instinct.
2. (countable, uncountable) An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.
   • Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.
   • an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct

Forms

Deriveds

herding instinct · survival instinct · herd instinct · instinct shooting · gut instinct · instinctual · instinctive · killer instinct · instinctively · death instinct

Translations (95)

he יֵצֶר (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · af instink (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ru инсти́нкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sq instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ca instint (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · de Instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sh ìnstinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · mk инстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · el ένστιχτο (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · cmn 天性 (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · az سوق طبيعى (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · be інсты́нкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ps غريزه (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · kmr xerîze (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi नैसर्गिक प्रवृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ota طبیعتك دورتمهسی (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · vi bản năng (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ro instinct (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · az sövqi-təbii (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · is eðlishvöt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · pt instinto (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sk inštinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi सहज वृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · th สัญชาตญาณ (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ru интуи́ция (intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought) · ko 본능 (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · pl instynkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · es instinto (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · nl instinct (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · uz instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · prs غَرِیزَه (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · lo ສັນຊາດຕະຍານ (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ota سوق طبیعی (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ml സഹജാവബോധം (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ota دورتش (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · lt instinktas (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · fa-ira غَریزِه (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · cs instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · fi vaisto (intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought) · lv instinkts (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · cs pud (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · bg инсти́нкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · km សភាវគតិ (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ms naluri (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · nn instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · eo instinkto (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ar غَرِيزَة (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tg ғариза (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ar سَلِيقَة (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · da instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · id insting (intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought) · st tshekamelo (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sh nágon (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · kk инстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ky инстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ml ജന്മവാസന (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tt инстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tr sevkitabii (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi सहज प्रवृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sh ѝнстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi वृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · he אִינְסְטִינְקְט (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi प्रवृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · it istinto (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tr içgüdü (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · crh sevq-i tabiiy (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sl nagon (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · nb instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · et instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hu ösztön (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · el ένστικτο (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · fi vietti (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi फ़ितरत (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ms insting (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sv instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ar فِطْرَة (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · lo ສັນຊາດຍານ (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi मूल प्रवृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tr insiyak (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · az instinkt (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hy բնազդ (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · mi rongo ā-puku (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ms garizah (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · tg инстинкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · hi नैसर्गिक वृत्ति (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · cmn 本能 (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · fr instinct (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · bg интуи́ция (intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought) · uk інсти́нкт (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ja 本能 (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · id naluri (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ka ინსტიქტი (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · sh на́гон (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · fi vaisto (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour) · ur فِطْرَت (natural or inherent impulse or behaviour)