Definition of instinct
- a. - Urged or stimulated from within; naturally moved or
impelled; imbued; animated; alive; quick; as, birds instinct with life.
- a. - Natural inward impulse; unconscious, involuntary, or
unreasoning prompting to any mode of action, whether bodily, or mental,
without a distinct apprehension of the end or object to be
accomplished.
- a. - Specif., the natural, unreasoning, impulse by which an
animal is guided to the performance of any action, without of
improvement in the method.
- a. - A natural aptitude or knack; a predilection; as, an
instinct for order; to be modest by instinct.
- v. t. - To impress, as an animating power, or instinct.