- a variation of instinctive.
instinctual
Americanadjective
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.
But consistent with his claim that he has always “had an intuitive and uncanny ability to help others with interpersonal problems,” the approach of “The 25th Hour” is more instinctual than evidence-based.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Even those with lives, careers and families are fundamentally lost, snared between their pursuit of personal justice and instinctual self-preservation.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
The rest of Kennard’s learning has been through conversations with coaches, film study and instinctual play on the court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
“Yermak was more a sort of instinctual negotiator…Budanov has his instincts, but I think he’s going to be much more punctilious about the preparations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
He would come at it with a bang, deploying his deep understanding of chemistry, mathematics, and crystallography—but more important, his instinctual grasp of model building.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
