instinctual

adjective

as in automatic
done instantly and without conscious thought or decision the birds' instinctual response is to fly away when startled

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of instinctual There’s an instinctual quality to how Navarrette has navigated her career thus far. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026 The downside is that these shifts are not situations where instinctual actions are superfluous. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 The monarchs’ feats of navigation are enabled by their internal technology, a set of instinctual tools that in some ways surpasses our understanding. — Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026 When someone’s raging at you, two phrases seem almost instinctual to say. — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 July 2026 In her speech, Swift reflected on her career, the instinctual nature of her songwriting, and trusting her own voice. — Bryan West, USA Today, 12 June 2026 The instinctual Moon in your 1st House of Identity conjoins tender Chiron there, asking you to lead by naming a need without armor. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2026 Sprints are chaotic and instinctual, for all the planning that can be done, decisions have to be made on feeling, with risk, at speeds topping out at around 80kph. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 9 May 2026 This was an instinctual work, mined from decades of memory. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinctual
  1. automatic
  2. mechanical
  3. instinctive
  4. reflex
  5. spontaneous
  6. mechanic
  7. robotic
  8. sudden
Adjective
  • District winners earn automatic berths into the FHSAA playoffs.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was supposed to force automatic Medicare cuts if spending exceeded target growth rates, was repealed in 2018 without ever becoming operational.
    — Dana P. Goldman, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of automatic
Adjective
  • Bushings are parts designed to reduce friction and absorb shock in various mechanical assemblies.
    — Graham Kates, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • These components are designed to withstand extreme temperatures and mechanical stress.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of mechanical
Adjective
  • Like Irving Berlin, Miranda is an instinctive musician whose mistakes can be worth more than other people’s rules.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Cinema needs women who are complicated, instinctive, ambitious, vulnerable, fearless and free – women who do not ask permission to take up space.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of instinctive
Adjective
  • The reflex sell-off after Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate hike gave the S&P 500 a momentary test of 7500, which proved a timely shakeout.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Padmini smiled, though this appeared more reflex than friendliness.
    — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of reflex
Adjective
  • Much like her character Klara, Ortega chooses to have faith in humans and their spontaneous wonder.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Celine’s Michael Rider leads a pack of creatives who seek spontaneous styling, embrace imperfection, and refuse to be bound by rules.
    — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of spontaneous
Adjective
  • Parched fields force hydroponic growers, vegetable farmers and fruit producers to halt harvests, sell off underfed livestock at rock-bottom prices and even return to mechanic jobs to survive.
    — Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • There are exceptions and one is Hig (Elordi), who before the virus hit was a mechanic living a good life with his pregnant wife and new puppy.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of mechanic
Adjective
  • Five of the world's space agencies joined forces for the five-year mission that will attempt to land a robotic prospector and a rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars' two pint-sized moons.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The experiment, conducted by computer scientists at Binghamton University in New York, exposed a security weakness in large language models (LLMs) used to plan robotic actions.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of robotic
Adjective
  • This is not a sudden shift in attitude to defend a controversial CBA.
    — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to low blood oxygen levels and low blood pressure, a pulmonary embolism can affect the heart, causing a fast or irregular heart rate, right-sided heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of sudden

Browse Nearby Words

instincts
instinctual
institute
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Cite this Entry

“Instinctual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinctual. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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