Used in a Sentence

instincts

Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for instincts.

Editorial note

This is one area where you absolutely must not trust your instincts; they will give you wildly wrong answers.

Examples16
Definitions2
Parts of speech1

Quick take

A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of instincts gathered in one view.

noun

A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

noun

An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for instincts.

noun

A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

noun

An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

Example sentences

1

This is one area where you absolutely must not trust your instincts; they will give you wildly wrong answers.

2

Have you not noticed that a few centuries ago society and technology made evolutionary instincts for reproductive success mostly obsolete?

3

We are responsible for homeostatic regulation as well as fundamental, reactive survival instincts and processes.

4

Scammers prey on people who want things so badly that they blind their instincts.

5

And no law that tries to controvert basic human instincts will ever be successful.

6

Fight or flight is one of the most basic and powerful human instincts.

7

Exactly, which is why I feel like they should ignore their own instincts and thought processes.

8

Just another sad attempt to appeal to such basic caveman instincts...

9

But I'm exercising once-valuable skills and instincts that I should fast from and eventually eliminate if I want to gain advantage in my current sociopolitical environment.

10

I am not sure people with challenged sexual instincts are these people, however I am sure there are people with a combination of both behavioural traits.

11

Like other animals, we are born with certain instincts.

12

It's things that are borderline embarrassing (real example: not knowing what ssh is) in addition to just poor coding habits (breaking every style rule in the book), no systems instincts, and so on.

Quote examples

1

Those "instincts" are looking like someone's ego dominating over everyone else in the company.

2

Lame." I see no reason for the Apple Watch to succeed but even less reason to trust my instincts.

3

It's based in our natural instincts for empathy and the ignoring of those "higher" motives in favor of more primitive drives to take, hurt, kill, rape, or enslave.

4

That Game of War ad is obviously unrelated to the game and appeals to "baser" instincts, but does it really deserve a label as harsh as "psychological blackmail"?

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use instincts in a sentence?

This is one area where you absolutely must not trust your instincts; they will give you wildly wrong answers.

What does instincts mean?

A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

What part of speech is instincts?

instincts is commonly used as noun.