intuition

American  

[in-too-ish-uhn, -tyoo-] / ˌɪn tuˈɪʃ ən, -tyu- /

noun

1. direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension.

2. a fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way.

3. a keen and quick insight.

4. the quality or ability of having such direct perception or quick insight.

5. Philosophy.

   1. an immediate cognition of an object not inferred or determined by a previous cognition of the same object.

   2. any object or truth so discerned.

   3. pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge.

6. Linguistics. the ability of the native speaker to make linguistic judgments, as of the grammaticality, ambiguity, equivalence, or nonequivalence of sentences, deriving from the speaker's native-language competence.

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intuition British  

/ ˌɪntjʊˈɪʃən /

noun

1. knowledge or belief obtained neither by reason nor by perception

2. instinctive knowledge or belief

3. a hunch or unjustified belief

4. philosophy immediate knowledge of a proposition or object such as Kant's account of our knowledge of sensible objects

5. the supposed faculty or process by which we obtain any of these

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Other Word Forms

• intuitional adjective
• intuitionally adverb
• intuitionless adjective

Etymology

Origin of intuition

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin intuitiōn-, stem of intuitiō “contemplation,” equivalent to Latin intuit(us), past participle of intuērī “to gaze at, contemplate” + -iō -ion; in- ², tuition

Example Sentences

But when the new site changed the radar's colour scale, long-time users were left scratching their heads as their "hard-won intuition for reading storm intensity became unreliable overnight".

From BBC

“I think my intuition was like, hey, girl, you need to protect your reproductive options,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Ask me why, why, why I’m like this,” she sings on the sprawling odyssey track “A&W,” perhaps suggesting that art is better formed by intuition than intention.

From Washington Post

Indeed, what Adler has provided is a guide to cooking intuition — an encyclopedia of what to do with herb stems, lingering falafel and extra sardines.

From Salon

“He had a surgical, scientific skill on the drums,” Mr. Selvin said by phone, “and he had an extraordinary gift of intuition. Every time he played on a record, he brought something special to it.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• hunch
• instinct