Definition of instinctual in US English:
instinctual
adjectiveinˈstiNG(k)(t)SH(o͞o)əlɪnˈstɪŋ(k)(t)ʃ(u)əl
Relating to or denoting an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior; based on instinct.
an instinctual survival response
instinctual maternal behavior
Example sentencesExamples
- Their "knowledge" is instinctual, rather than rational.
- The artist's penchant for manipulating what is instinctual is profound.
- Her passion seems instinctual, more like the weary empathy of Garbo, inseparable from her being.
- In cold logic, she had quelled her instinctual need for company.
- He will control the relationships in the society based on his own instinctual impulses.
- We are the rotted bags of meat moving to the next location, hoping to find a source of instinctual nourishment.
- His professional decisions have been pretty instinctual, he says.
- The wider the range of legitimate opportunity, the less the instinctual choice to steal access.
- Everything she does in the film is an instinctual thing.
- Craft is the critical mind working on instinctual creative decisions.