killer instinct
Urge to dominate
A killer instinct is the ruthless drive to finish off an opponent or close a deal without hesitation.
In sports, a player with killer instinct capitalizes on every advantage: She had the killer instinct to put away the match when her opponent faltered.
In business, it suggests aggressive competitiveness—the willingness to act decisively when opportunity appears.
The phrase implies something innate rather than learned.
Showing no clemency
- cold-bloodedUnfeeling or externally heated
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
- pitilessLacking any compassion
- remorselessLacking guilt or pity
heartless · brutal · callous · cruel · hardened · unemotional · calculating · unflinching
Desire for achievement
- driveOperate a vehicle
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
grit · fierceness · relentless · winning · dominance · victory · champion · ruthless
merciless
Showing no clemency
- cold-bloodedUnfeeling or externally heated
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
- pitilessLacking any compassion
remorseless · heartless · brutal · callous · cruel · hardened · unemotional · calculating · unflinching · steely
ambition
Desire for achievement
- driveOperate a vehicle
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
tenacity · grit · fierceness · relentless · winning · dominance · victory · champion · ruthless · cutthroat
predator
Organism that consumes others
attack · pounce · strike · aggression · ferocity · savagery · viciousness · dominance · territory · survival
- competitive drivecompetitiveness, determination, drive, will to win, winning mentality
- primal instinctsprimal, feral, savage, predator, prey
- sport psychologymental toughness, flow state, self-talk, concentration, confidence
- Nailed Itnailed it, crushed it, aced it, slam dunk, hole in one
- scoringgoal, points, score, goals, runs
- valorbravery, courage, gallantry, heroism, fearlessness
killer instinctmercy
Compassion toward offenders
hesitation · compassion · soft-heartedness · squeamishness · reluctance
killer instinctchoking
Blocked airway condition
letting up · losing nerve · coasting · complacency · snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
killer instinctsurvival instinct
Inborn drive to live
self-preservation · freeze response · deer in headlights · victim mentality · passivity
killing, killer, killed, instinct, killers, killable, unkillable