instinct

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A natural way of behaving or feeling that you are born with, not learned.

   Birds build nests by instinct.

2. 2
   noun

   A feeling that makes you act in a certain way without thinking it through.

   My instinct told me not to trust him.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Instinct comes from Latin instinctus, meaning “impulse,” derived from the verb instinguere. The base of instinguere is Latin stinguere, “to prick,” which gives the core notion of an urge.

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

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary