intuitive
Americanadjective
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perceiving directly by intuition without rational thought, as a person or the mind.
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perceived by, resulting from, or involving intuition.
intuitive knowledge.
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having or possessing intuition.
an intuitive person.
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capable of being perceived or known by intuition.
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easy to understand or operate without explicit instruction.
an intuitive design;
an intuitive interface.
adjective
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resulting from intuition
an intuitive awareness
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of, characterized by, or involving intuition
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intuitive
From the Medieval Latin word intuitīvus, dating back to 1585–95. See intuition, -ive
Explanation
If you're intuitive, you can probably guess what this word means just by looking at it. No? Maybe you're not so intuitive, after all. Intuitive means having the ability to understand or know something without any direct evidence or reasoning process. Psychics are intuitive. So are mothers when they know you're lying. A process can be said to be intuitive as well, if it can be easily learned without any prior training — like an easy-to-learn software program. In human beings, intuitiveness is often thought of as something more mystical, as in the ability psychics have to predict the future.
Vocabulary lists containing intuitive
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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.
Using the blower to herd balls around the park feels fairly intuitive, though naturally I'm much clumsier and slower than the pro landscapers.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Choudhury described NumWorks as a more affordable and intuitive device that provides a free online version that students can access at any time, even when they aren’t holding the physical calculator.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
“If you boil it down like that,” Infante said, “the intuitive idea that, ‘Oh, zoomers just don’t want to drink,’ becomes very hard to defend.”
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The movie has invented its own intuitive archetype, so that now they all find themselves saying, “That’s so ‘wrong girls’” in certain situations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
What one is after when farfetching might be described as the intuitive perception of a moral entirety; and thus it tends to find expression not in rational symbols, but in metaphor.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
