intuitive

adjective

in·​tu·​i·​tive in-ˈtü-ə-tiv 

-ˈtyü-

1

: possessing or given to intuition or insight

an intuitive mind

2

a

: known or perceived by intuition : directly apprehended

had an intuitive awareness of his sister's feelings

b

: knowable by intuition

intuitive truths

c

: based on or agreeing with intuition

intuitive responses

makes intuitive sense

d

: readily learned or understood

software with an intuitive interface

3

: knowing or perceiving by intuition

intuitively adverb

intuitiveness noun

Did you know?

Does intuitive have anything to do with a sixth sense?

Nowadays, we often see intuitive used in contexts pertaining to technology that is easy to understand. A smartphone with an “intuitive interface” is one that doesn't need much explaining; you can usually figure out how it works as soon as you fire it up.

The related noun intuition, meanwhile, describes a feeling of knowing or understanding something without evident rational thought and inference. A parent's intuition might tell him or her that a child is in danger, even if there is no logical reason to believe so.

So does intuitive have anything to do with what is often called the sixth sense? Well, the sixth sense is defined as "a keen intuitive power." It is synonymous with ESP or extrasensory perception. As its name implies, ESP describes a purported ability to know something that cannot be known by normal use of the senses.

The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) used the term intuitive substage to refer to the stage of cognitive development when children have acquired a vast amount of knowledge but have not considered how they acquired it, so they accept it as true.

An interface is intuitive because it makes sense according to what we expect from how older interfaces are designed. A parent's intuitive sense of danger may still be prompted by subtle hints that things just aren't as they should be, even if the parent cannot identify exactly how. So while sixth sense refers to the ability to acquire knowledge from beyond the five senses, intuitive tends to apply more to knowledge absorbed through experience, even when not immediately recognized as such.

Examples of intuitive in a Sentence

The controls of an airplane are intuitive. Push to nose down, pull to nose up, turn left, turn right. —Stephan Wilkinson, Popular Science, December 2002

… but most of the literature was political rather than scientific, more interested in … exalting the irrational and intuitive over the rational and quantifiable. —Paddy Chayefsky, Artificial Paradises, (1978) 1999

Galileo had made an intuitive jump to what we now call Newton's first law of motion: a body in motion tends to remain in motion. —Leon Lederman et al., The God Particle, 1993

She has an intuitive mind.

a doctor with an intuitive awareness of his patients' concerns

The argument makes intuitive sense.

The software has an intuitive interface.

Recent Examples on the Web

To retain core business customers, consider delivering these services in an intuitive approach such as bundled pricing, volume discounting or a freemium model. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

With a sleek, hose-free design and intuitive experience, this system delivers next-level recovery. —Hyphensocial Contributors, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024

The comfortable fit and intuitive onboard controls round out the listening experience. —Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 6 Nov. 2024

That said, even with Godot’s consumer-friendly attempts, amateurs might have difficulty getting on board, especially without an intuitive visual scripting option. —PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see intuition

First Known Use

circa 1645, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Kids Definition

intuitive

adjective

in·​tu·​itive

in-ˈt(y)ü-ət-iv

1

: knowing or understanding by intuition

an intuitive person

2

: having or characterized by intuition

an intuitive mind

3

: known or understood by intuition

intuitive knowledge

intuitively adjective

intuitiveness noun