1
Core meaning
An immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
Example
Her intuition suggested that the pattern was not accidental.
intuition
/ˌɪntjuˈɪʃən/ · in-tyoo-ISH-unnoun
An immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
Use intuition to express this relationship precisely: an immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
What intuition Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
Experts may develop reliable intuition through long experience.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
Scientific claims require evidence even when they agree with intuition.
Use intuition Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Her intuition suggested that the pattern was not accidental.
Experts may develop reliable intuition through long experience.
Scientific claims require evidence even when they agree with intuition.
Precision Matters
Intuition overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
intuition
vs.Means an immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
infer
Means to reach a conclusion from evidence and reasoning rather than direct statement.
intuition
vs.Means an immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
surmise
Means to infer or guess without conclusive proof.
intuition
vs.Means an immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
prescient
Means showing accurate knowledge of events before they happen.
intuition
vs.Means an immediate understanding or judgment based on instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
scrutiny
Means close, careful, and often critical examination.
Test intuition in Context
His initial judgment arose instinctively rather than from deliberate analysis.
1
Although his ___ told him the estimate was too high, he checked the data before drawing a conclusion.