as in automatic
done instantly and without conscious thought or decision
the birds' instinctual response is to fly away when startled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinctual
Adjective
-
Make Vehicle Technology Your Back-Up Modern cars have a lot of safety features, including anti-lock brakes, automatic emergency brakes, lane assists and more.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025 -
Tedesco’s side won just one of their six matches in League A Group 2, finishing nine points behind France and Italy while avoiding automatic relegation to League B by finishing above Israel on goal difference.—
Guillermo Rai,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
No racing or mechanical experience is required; only creativity and a desire to put the pedal to the floor!—
AvidXchange Music Factory,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Jan. 2025
-
Seed oils are obtained either through mechanical or chemical extraction.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Its low latency allows for instinctive operation whether controlled by a single operator or remotely.—
Beatrice Verhoeven,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Jan. 2025
-
According to Prada, this particular collection represented to her our instinctive approach to dressing: prioritizing what feels right over what we’re told to wear.—
Brett F. Braley-Palko,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
When the reflex actions are prevented, those muscle movements that ultimately cause the quick spoilage don’t occur.—
Simon Mainwaring,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
-
Basal tears keep the eye moist, while reflex tears are meant to protect the eye from irritants like dust.—
Jeremy Engle,
New York Times,
25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Read More: These Are the Best Ways to Improve Your Memory In addition, bus drivers, aircraft pilots, and ship captains—the jobs with less spontaneous decision-making—had Alzheimer’s death rates typical of the rest of the population.—
Christopher M. Worsham,
TIME,
14 Jan. 2025
-
My creative process is instinctive and spontaneous.—
Stephan Rabimov,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Harroun installed it with a bracket above the dashboard rather than have a mechanic ride in the race with him, as was the custom of the day.—
George Petras,
USA TODAY,
24 May 2024
-
When Part 4 was released in August 2023, mechanic Bennie was losing his garage.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
The Indianapolis Star,
17 Apr. 2024
Adjective
-
Asked what would happen to Gateway if SLS is cancelled, Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration, responded that the cancellation would only impact ESA if no other launcher were able to transport Orion and the ESM to lunar orbit.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
16 Jan. 2025
-
To do that, someone would likely need to create a type of digital skin that would attach to a robotic limb and rapidly collect and interpret data about the world.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
But, an approach solely focused on sudden movements could lead to so many false triggers, users would likely find the option more annoying than beneficial—and that’s where machine learning, a segment of AI focused on pattern recognition, comes into play.—
Reece Rogers,
WIRED,
25 Jan. 2025
-
The coastal city of Rancho Palos Verdes suffered sudden movement from a decades-old complex of slow-moving landslides last fall, twisting roads and putting multimillion-dollar homes on the brink of destruction.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN,
24 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Articles Related to instinctual
Thesaurus Entries Near instinctual
Cite this Entry
“Instinctual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinctual. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share