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Synonyms

killer instinct

American  
[kil-er in-stingkt] / ˈkɪl ər ˈɪn stɪŋkt /

noun

  • killer instincts
    plural
  1. a strong drive to succeed in a competitive setting, particularly accompanied by a lack of regard for others.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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.

See Examples For:

When the calendar flipped to 2025, Korda’s killer instinct shut back off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

Marc Cucurella has urged Chelsea to show a killer instinct after their failure to finish off Sunderland in Saturday's damaging 2-1 defeat.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025

He used to cheer and be very expressive but he has an absolute killer instinct about him at the moment in everything he does.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025

The Rams have gotten tantalizingly close to winning at Detroit and Chicago, and at home against the Packers but so far they’ve lacked anything close to a killer instinct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2024

But the killer instinct is dead in fighters today and it has to be ignited.

From Vital Ingredient by Llewellyn

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