inborn
/'inbɔ:d/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Existing from birth; innate: Refers to a quality, ability, or characteristic that is present in a person or animal from the time they are born.
- Not acquired; inherent: Describes something that is a natural part of an individual's constitution, not learned or developed from experience.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Her inborn musicality was evident even as a toddler.
- Birds have an inborn ability to navigate by the stars.
- Some fears, like the fear of loud noises, are considered inborn.
Advanced Usage
- "inborn to": Used to indicate that a quality is natural to a particular being or species.
- Curiosity is inborn to human nature.
- "inborn in": Used to specify the possessor of the innate quality.
- A strong survival instinct is inborn in most creatures.
Variants and Related Words
- Innate (adj): Inborn; existing naturally rather than learned. Often used interchangeably.
- She has an innate sense of style.
- Congenital (adj): (Especially of a disease or physical abnormality) present from birth. This term is more common in medical contexts.
- The baby was born with a congenital heart defect.
- Connatural (adj): (Formal) belonging naturally; innate.
- He argued that a moral sense is connatural to humanity.
Synonyms
- Innate
- Native
- Natural
- Inherent
- Instinctive
Antonyms
- Acquired
- Learned
- Adventitious (formal: coming from outside; not inherent)
Related Phrases and Idioms
- Born with: Having a particular quality or trait from birth.
- He seems to have been born with incredible patience.
- In one's blood: Used to say a skill or tendency seems to be a natural part of a person or family.
- Acting is in her blood. (This idiom implies a strong, seemingly innate tendency, often passed through generations.)
Adjective
- normally existing at birth
- mankind's connatural sense of the good
- present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development