instinctively

adverb

Definition of instinctivelynext
as in intuitively

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of instinctively Scotlandville will no longer be represented by a native son, someone who people believed instinctively understood their challenges and offered a direct line to power and influence in the nation’s capital. — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 Lacking the spam warnings and banner disclaimers common in corporate email, users instinctively drop their security guard. — Firas Azmeh, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026 Her left hand instinctively taps out the rhythm in the air while her right rests on her hip. — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 16 Sep. 2026 Jackson says her daughter took to the QVC set almost instinctively after growing up watching her mother sell beauty products. — Brittany Talarico, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026 Growing up in the foothills of eastern Kentucky as a compulsive reader and full-time hillbilly, I was instinctively attracted, like most literary-minded country folk, to the work of essayist, novelist, and poet, Wendell Berry. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 By early afternoon, Daisy Chain Fields already felt less like a first-year festival and more like a space people instinctively knew how to settle into. — Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2026 Rather than panic, Bruney remembered a weak spot and acted almost instinctively. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 An aftershock that struck during an interview Tuesday prompted Vincentius Rano and his wife to instinctively duck and cover their heads. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instinctively
  1. intuitively
  2. essentially
  3. fundamentally
  4. basically
Adverb
  • Study after study points in the same direction, and most leaders intuitively believe the conclusion that great leadership produces great results.
    — Bill Koch, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • That’s one romantic notion of many in a free-floating relationship drama, which employs an intuitively non-linear structure to enliven what is otherwise a fairly conventional, ordinary love story between two attractive but imperfect people.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of intuitively
Adverb
  • Neutron experiments instead found that the manganese spins remain essentially aligned.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The play is essentially a condensed version of Jaku’s memoir, but there’s one big difference.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of essentially
Adverb
  • Robinson says that the culture in industry is fundamentally broken.
    — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Kretzschmar and his lawyers, however, argued in state court in Tompkins County that the process was fundamentally unfair, including because he was found responsible for an offense that was not listed in his initial set of administrative charges.
    — Shayna Jacobs, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of fundamentally
Adverb
  • For the purposes of the war at hand, the photo is, basically, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Much like Whitford back in the late 1980s, Blyth is realizing that Kaffee basically never gets to leave the stage.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of basically

Browse Nearby Words

instinctive
instinctively
instincts
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Cite this Entry

“Instinctively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instinctively. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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