instinct

Definitions

in- (inside) + stinct (prick, goad) = a goad from within. Where a stimulus pokes you from outside, an instinct is the poke that's already built in — an inner urge that drives you to act before you reason it out. A bird doesn't decide to migrate; an inner goad pushes it.

Why It Means This

The 'inner goad' image explains why instinct feels involuntary. Unlike a decision, it arrives fully formed and pushes you before thought catches up — which is why we say 'gut instinct' or 'follow your instincts.' The word also stretched from animal behavior (nesting, migration) to human intuition (a journalist's instinct for a story), but the core idea is constant: an impulse pricking you from inside.

Common Collocations

• 1.natural instinct天生本能
• 2.gut instinct直觉
• 3.survival instinct求生本能
• 4.follow your instincts凭直觉行事
• 5.maternal instinct母性本能

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Salmon return to their birthplace to spawn purely by instinct.

• 2.

  My first instinct was to run, but I forced myself to stay calm.

• 3.

  She has a sharp instinct for spotting talent.

Easily Confused

instinct vs intuition — Instinct is hardwired and shared across a species (survival instinct); it's biological. Intuition is a personal hunch built from experience (her intuition told her he was hiding something). Born with it → instinct; learned without realizing → intuition.