instincts

NOUN

gut feeling, idea

Synonyms

STRONGEST

aptitude feeling hunch impulse inclination intuition knack savvy sense sentiment talent tendency

STRONG

faculty gift know-how nose predisposition proclivity urge

WEAK

funny feeling gut reaction sixth sense

Antonyms

STRONGEST

inability incapacity lack

STRONG

disinclination

WEAK

knowledge reason

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

instincts

Whatever lawmakers’ first, unsatisfactory instincts, they eventually will have to do their jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

What Huestis wants to see is whether an intern possesses, or can pick up, the instincts to work in a hospital setting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

They’re also huge — females can exceed 800 pounds and males 1,500 or more — with pointy horns and protective instincts, especially around the young.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

It was not as though the open air of a farmers market was going to cure my base shopping instincts.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

Scruggs’s survival instincts from Vietnam kicked in big-time.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge