noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
herd instinct (= the need to behave in the same way as everyone else does )
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the herd instinct
maternal instinct (= desire to have babies and take care of them )
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She seems to have a strong maternal instinct .
sb’s survival instinct (= a natural ability to know how to survive )
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My survival instinct told me to get up and run.
Trust...instincts (= do what you feel is the right thing )
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Trust your instincts !
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
base
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Our whole vocation is to transcend the baser instincts of the animal world and be stewards and not spoilers of creation.
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So he could control his baser instincts !
basic
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Brilliant pop shacked up with basic instincts .
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A gut-level fear reaction that comes out of a basic survival instinct and which operates independently of the intellect.
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It is, after all, a basic instinct to keep oneself clean and to eat.
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Gentle gnawing on the tiny bones appeals to our most basic , primordial instincts .
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You invoke the basic , primeval instincts inherent in all animals.
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Innate robotic responses or patterns of rapid learning in animals may be nothing more than an extension of their basic instincts .
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Revulsion as the most basic of the instincts .
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None was working against its basic instincts , but with each bird she had created something more.
human
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Were these our primeval human instincts emerging?
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Now in every human being there is a built-in human instinct system, without which we should not even come to birth.
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Nationalism is linked to deep-rooted human instincts and can not be easily ascribed to clever politicians.
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He battles with what we know so well-the powerful human instinct to preserve ourselves and avoid pain or conflict.
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His central argument is that the root cause of our modern ills is the frustration of the human creative instinct .
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They are our human instincts , parts of the beings we are.
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We have human instincts , not those of other creatures.
maternal
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Pity probably, and an over-developed maternal instinct .
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They would think her maternal instinct outraged at the extraction of her child?
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The maternal instinct can't be dumped, even when you've got rid of your baby.
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A strong maternal instinct takes over.
natural
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I was whipped on against every natural instinct .
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San Diego is populated by folks whose natural instinct is to take to the beach, not to the streets.
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I feel certain the purpose of the slimness stems from the natural instinct to shoal in a compact body.
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The characters are guided by their hearts and natural instincts to truth, right conduct and happiness.
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It is a natural inclination and instinct to want our effort recognised and appreciated.
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For me, drawing, designing, although coming from a very natural instinct , never has an esthetic finality.
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Experience told him that a woman's natural instinct was to defend herself rather than to hurt the attacker.
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While they are only following their natural instincts , digging can cause very serious problems in the longer term.
old
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All of her deepest, oldest instincts told her it was crazy to put her faith in any man.
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Eventually, when the chicks are about 10 weeks old , instinct kicks in.
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Republicans deplore his Old Democrat instincts .
political
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It is also a vindication of his political instincts .
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After graduation from Johns Hopkins University, Kempton followed his leftist political instincts .
protective
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Just the helpless-looking type to bring out Al Moore's protective instincts .
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I have a protective instinct toward you.
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His protective instincts thoroughly aroused, he changed roles.
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It was the President, of course, who was the final object of their protective instincts .
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Her protective instincts were wonderful to watch.
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He looked over to the childlike form on his bed and felt a protective instinct so strong he almost wept.
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Beneath Lais's brittle facade there was a childlike quality that brought out the protective instinct in him.
strong
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Our intuition - linked to that strongest of instincts , survival - is often more accurate than logic or reason.
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He favored moderate men with strong pastoral instincts and well-nuanced doctrinal views.
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Our argument is that this type of politics has a strong basis in instincts and emotion as well as in political economy.
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This is a country with strong democratic instincts .
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But Imelda Finnegan was astute, strong in instinct .
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He seems to have had the strongest instinct for cover.
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The paratenic host is also of considerable significance because of the strong hunting instinct of cats.
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A strong maternal instinct takes over.
■ NOUN
death
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He was very conscious of the speculative status of his death instincts theory in Beyond the Pleasure Principle.
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Freud was already sixty-four years old when the notion of the death instincts first appeared in Beyond the Pleasure Principle in 1920.
gut
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The old man's gut instincts had always been good.
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The staff member who received the flowers on this occasion did what she did through pure interest and gut instinct .
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The Prime Minister's gut instinct is to secure a private sector future for the Tube.
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He couldn't ignore his gut instinct , which had never failed him yet.
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Ultimately, they blame Rupert Murdoch for losing confidence in his gut instincts .
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It's a tremendous responsibility, and challenges all your skills and training, but it also depends a lot on gut instinct .
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Something - that same gut instinct that made her get his address alerted her.
herd
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In my view, it's the herd instinct .
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It seems to me that the Cabinet has an obsessively self-protective herd instinct which could be its undoing.
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But there is a herd instinct .
killer
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On politics, it has none of the Washington Post's killer instincts .
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Our firm nurtures the killer instinct .
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A killer instinct required to spoil a tearful bon voyage party for a beloved figure.
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The rest of the first-half saw Rangers produce several good moves, but the killer instinct was lacking.
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This team is still trying to find a killer instinct .
survival
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A gut-level fear reaction that comes out of a basic survival instinct and which operates independently of the intellect.
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Hussein's craving for the limelight is second only to his survival instinct .
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He judged his risks; he had an extraordinary survival instinct .
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Deep in his sick brain his survival instinct warned him his injury was serious.
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Although it is a by-product of the survival instinct , this empathy is genuine.
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Her theory is that baby has a healthy survival instinct and is unlikely to attempt anything really dangerous.
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Her tameness drops away like a spring moult, and her primitive survival instincts supplant everything else.
■ VERB
develop
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However, it is something for which one develops an instinct , or feel, over the years.
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And it is our experience that successful entrepreneurs quickly develop a finely tuned instinct for investing their time in high-profit opportunities.
follow
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At each stage Mr Kohl has followed his instincts , taken his chances - and won.
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After graduation from Johns Hopkins University, Kempton followed his leftist political instincts .
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It's unspeakably commonplace to follow one's instincts .
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While they are only following their natural instincts , digging can cause very serious problems in the longer term.
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Uncertain which route to take, and lacking the confidence to follow his instincts , the Prince turned in on himself.
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In coming here, he was actually following psychic instinct , an indefinable but insinuating impulse to visit the court of Voronov-Vaux.
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They have less need of instruction manuals and can follow their instincts and the dictates of their heart.
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It is best for you to follow your instincts and make up your own ritual.
trust
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However, I always allow the person to trust their own instincts in such matters.
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We were doing step number one, trust our instincts , which told us there was terrible earth ahead.
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Only human beings, feeling the hair on the back of their necks and trusting their instincts .
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Well, I trust your instincts .
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Perhaps the most important piece of advice of all is to trust your own instincts .
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I nearly replied, but I shut my mouth instead, trusting some other instinct .
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Better to keep your eyes open; better to trust your instincts and take deep breaths between the parked cars.
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Be willing to take an unpopular stand and be the only one to benefit. 8. Trust your instincts .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
animal urges/instincts etc
follow your instincts/feelings/gut reaction etc
gut reaction/feeling/instinct
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But my gut reaction was that, despite his reputation for being hot tempered, he was a friendly, likable child.
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For the ordinary viewer, logical argument gives way to his or her gut reactions and personal experience in responding to people.
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I have a gut feeling that the old partnerships between nature and culture have momentarily slipped out of our reach.
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It is more a gut feeling-a visceral distrust of foreigners.
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It was just a gut feeling, a sense of unease.
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Male speaker There's gut feeling amongst the officers on the ground that it may be drugs related.
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Personal reflections My gut reaction has always been against the placing of bolts, and I've never used them.
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We worked on gut feeling and it was very difficult to control and manage all the development work because of the technology involved.
killer instinct
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A killer instinct required to spoil a tearful bon voyage party for a beloved figure.
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On politics, it has none of the Washington Post's killer instincts.
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Our firm nurtures the killer instinct.
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The rest of the first-half saw Rangers produce several good moves, but the killer instinct was lacking.
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This team is still trying to find a killer instinct.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A cat's natural instinct is to chase birds.
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Even a very young animal has a strong instincts for self-preservation.
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Guys who have grown up on a ranch know almost by instinct what needs to be done to keep it running.
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He has tremendous business instincts.
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I don't know if it was maternal instinct or what, but I just knew my baby would be okay.
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I was terrified. I was just working on instinct and trying to survive.
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My instincts tell me that she's not the right woman for you.
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My first instinct was to lie about it.