(ˈ)i|nāt, əˈn- sometimes (ˈ)in|n-; usu -ād.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English innat, from Latin innatus, past participle of innasci to be born, be a native, be naturally suitable, from in- in- (II) + nasci to be born — more at nation
1.
a. : existing in or belonging to some person or other living organism from birth : native , natural
innate vigor
b. : belonging to the essential nature of something : inherent
the innate defect in a plan
c. : originating in, derived from, or inherent in the mind or the constitution of the intellect rather than derived from experience
innate ideas of God, immortality, right and wrong
— compare a priori , intuitive
2. obsolete : formed internally : hidden within : internal
3.
a. : attached to the apex of the support of a plant (as an anther to the tip of a filament) — compare adnate 2
b. : endogenous
c. : immersed or embedded in (as the fruiting bodies in the thallus of a fungus)
Synonyms:
inborn , inbred , congenital , hereditary , inherited : innate applies to qualities or characteristics belonging to something as part of its inner essential nature. innate designates that which is part of lasting essential character, sometimes present or potential at birth
simple ideas should be kept simple, and their innate strength should not be undermined by the use of big words and by periphrases — E.S.McCartney
because of her ability to sense the innate talent of young and untried actors — American Guide Series: Michigan
this stubbornness has been explained as being innate in the Germans, as a natural racial cussedness — R.C.Wood
inborn may describe a natural native distinctive characteristic so deep-seated as to have been born in one, often present at birth
there was in him a rush of inborn vitality like an Alpine torrent — Agnes Repplier
the psychopathic personality is held to be an inborn (though not hereditary) deficit and is of the nature of a functional alteration — Year Book of Neurology, Psychiatry & Neurosurgery
inbred describes that which becomes deeply ingrained into one's nature by early environmental influences without being part of one's nature at birth
those inbred sentiments which are … the true supporters of all liberal and manly morals — Edmund Burke
a methodical man, an inbred Yankee — W.A.White
congenital applies to a characteristic present at the birth of a person or inception of a thing or notion, whatever the provenience of that characteristic
the newborn child's chances of survival and healthy development depend in part on his congenital equipment — Times Literary Supplement
yet art for art's sake suffers from a congenital disease; it professes to create substance out of form, which is physically impossible — George Santayana
hereditary and inherited describe characteristics and conditions not only present at birth but definitely coming from heredity, that is, brought about by transmission from parents and ancestors
an hereditary propensity to kill men and eat them. True, he came from a race of cannibals — Herman Melville
most of us, of course, held fast to the Republican party, for political beliefs were hereditary, transmissible in the male line — Ben Riker
a tendency in the past to confuse congenital with inherited. It is a commonplace now that conditions present at birth are not necessarily inherited in the biological sense of the word, to quote only congenital syphilis as an example. It is also generally known that many inherited conditions first manifest themselves long after birth — Hans Grüneberg