spontaneous, impulsive, instinctive, automatic, mechanical mean acting or activated without deliberation. spontaneous implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness.

Not expected or planned (Definition of instinctive from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

adjective of, relating to, or of the nature of instinct. prompted by or resulting from or as if from instinct; natural; unlearned. an instinctive will to survive.

An instinctive feeling, idea, or action is one that you have or do without thinking or reasoning. It's an absolutely instinctive reaction–if a child falls you pick it up.

Definition of instinctive adjective in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Being such by natural inclination rather than conscious effort or study: "Both men were instinctive masters at seizing unexpected openings and turning them into victories" (Nick Kotz).

Arising from impulse or natural inclination; done without thought or conscious effort; spontaneous. An instinctive sympathy for the downtrodden.

The adjective instinctive describes something you do without thinking about it. If you have an instinctive desire to help animals, you might automatically stop your car to pick up every stray …

Jul 24, 2025 · Instinctive means arising from instinct or a natural impulse, not from conscious reasoning or learning. It characterizes automatic, unplanned behavior that is typically …

When something is described as instinctive, it suggests that it arises from a deep-seated, primal, or automatic impulse that is ingrained within an individual or a species.