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.