instinctual
Built into biology
Instinctual describes behavior or responses arising from instinct rather than learning or conscious thought.
An instinctual fear of snakes is inborn, not acquired.
The word overlaps almost completely with instinctive, though instinctual appears more often in technical and academic contexts: instinctual drives, instinctual behavior patterns.
Existing from birth
- inherentExisting as essential part
- hardwiredPermanently connected by wires
- naturalNot artificially produced
- intrinsicBelonging by nature
built-in · ingrained · deep-rooted · genetic · hereditary · congenital · native · fundamental
Resembling brute nature
- feralWild after domestication
- savageFierce and untamed
- wildNot domesticated or controlled
- untamedNot domesticated
predatory · visceral · raw · elemental · carnal · brutish · beastly · primitive
Instinctive sense about something
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
perception · empathy · foreboding · premonition · sensing · knowing · feeling · awareness
inborn
Existing from birth
- inherentExisting as essential part
- hardwiredPermanently connected by wires
- naturalNot artificially produced
intrinsic · built-in · ingrained · deep-rooted · genetic · hereditary · congenital · native · fundamental · preprogrammed
animalistic
Resembling brute nature
untamed · predatory · visceral · raw · elemental · carnal · brutish · beastly · primitive · uninhibited
gut feeling
Instinctive sense about something
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
insight · perception · empathy · foreboding · premonition · sensing · knowing · feeling · awareness · recognition
instinctualdeliberate
Consciously chosen, not accidental
intentional · reasoned · conscious · calculated · volitional
instinctuallearned
Having much knowledge
acquired · conditioned · taught · trained · educated
instinctualcultivated
Improved through nurture
refined · sophisticated · polished · rehearsed · practiced
- instinctual behaviorUnlearned inherited response patterns