Synonyms of innate

innate

adjective

i-ˈnāt 

as in inherent

being a part of the innermost nature of a person or thing

an innate athletic ability that allowed him to excel at just about any sport he tried his hand at

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inherent
• intrinsic
• integral
• essential
• inborn
• hereditary
• natural
• constitutional
• inherited
• indigenous
• inner
• ingrained
• constitutive
• native
• immanent
• inbred
• hardwired
• fundamental
• congenital
• elemental
• engrained
• basic
• distinctive
• built-in
• internal
• characteristic
• ingrain
• peculiar
• in one's blood
• deep-rooted
• interior
• habitual
• normal
• typical
• inmost
• inveterate
• regular

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extrinsic
• foreign
• extraneous
• adventitious
• alien
• accidental
• incidental
• surface
• coincidental
• acquired
• external
• superficial
• exterior
• adscititious

Synonym Chooser

How is the word innate different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of innate are congenital, hereditary, inborn, and inbred. While all these words mean "not acquired after birth," innate applies to qualities or characteristics that are part of one's inner essential nature.

an innate sense of fair play

How are the words congenital and hereditary related as synonyms of innate?

Both congenital and hereditary refer to what is acquired before or at birth, the former to things acquired during fetal development and the latter to things transmitted from one's ancestors.

a congenital heart murmur

eye color is hereditary

When would inborn be a good substitute for innate?

The meanings of inborn and innate largely overlap; however, inborn suggests a quality or tendency either actually present at birth or so marked and deep-seated as to seem so.

her inborn love of nature

When might inbred be a better fit than innate?

The synonyms inbred and innate are sometimes interchangeable, but inbred suggests something either acquired from parents by heredity or so deeply rooted and ingrained as to seem acquired in that way.

inbred political loyalties

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of innate

Ape communication researchers have long debated whether gestures and signals such as these are innate or learned through social context and experience. —Avery Schuyler Nunn, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2025

But that’s also what gives A Letter to David an innate emotional force: the constant cross-cutting between present and past, movie and reality, brother and brother, provides a chilling look at lives that have been both torn apart and captured on screen. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025

When this innate drive for self-expansion is unfulfilled within the current relationship, individuals may seek it elsewhere—including through infidelity. Cheating, in this case, isn’t necessarily about rejecting a relationship but about reclaiming a lost sense of self. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025

Baby animals will face death in its myriad unpredictable forms only to be protected by their devoted parents (mothers 80 percent of the time) or their own innate and recognizably anthropomorphized ingenuity. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2025