- a variation of hard-wired.
hardwired
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“Hardwired” is often used loosely to refer to functions that are innate and unlearned in living systems: “The ability to perceive objects in a certain way appears to be hardwired into the brains of mammals.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our enduring affection for Ross may be hardwired into our collective psyche, in other words.
From Salon • May 2, 2026
It is a significant shift for a value retailer whose executives describe the company as hardwired to keep prices at or below $5.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
Many researchers believe this trait is hardwired into our brains for evolutionary reasons.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025
"It's actually good not to be as productive or active as you would be during the summer months because our bodies are biologically hardwired for rest during winter," she says.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025
Human beings, it is often said, are hardwired for narrative, and theater taps into Mariela’s brain circuitry in a way nothing else ever has.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.