Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Existing naturally or by heredity rather than being learned through experience.
  • adjective Of or produced by the mind rather than learned through experience.
  • adjective Possessed as an essential characteristic; inherent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Inborn; natural; pertaining to the inherited constitution of body or mind; not derived or acquired from any external source; especially, native to the mind; instinctive: as, an innate tendency to virtue or vice; innate ideas.
  • In botany: Borne on the apex of the supporting part: as, an innate anther, which is one that directly continues and corresponds to the apex of the filament.
  • Born within; originating within the matrix, or within the substance of the plant.
  • To bring or call into existence; inform.
  • In biology, characteristic of a species or common to the individuals of a species, or alike in parent and in offspring; hereditary; constitutional; congenital.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To cause to exit; to call into being.
  • adjective Inborn; native; natural
  • adjective (Metaph.) Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience. See A priori, Intuitive.
  • adjective (Bot.) Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament.
  • adjective (Metaph.) ideas, as of God, immortality, right and wrong, supposed by some to be inherent in the mind, as a priori principles of knowledge.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence.
  • adjective Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See a priori, intuitive.
  • adjective Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament; as, an innate anther.
  • verb To cause to exist; to call into being.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective being talented through inherited qualities
  • adjective not established by conditioning or learning
  • adjective present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English innat, from Latin innātus, past participle of innāscī, to be born in : in-, in; see in– + nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin innātus ("inborn"), perfect active participle of innāscor ("be born in, grow up in"), from in ("in, at on") + nāscor ("be born"); see natal, native.

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Examples

  • They wished to be "loyal," but they would not surrender what they termed innate rights; they would not be taxed without representation, nor be debarred from manufacturing; nor consent to make

    The History of the United States from 1492 to 1910, Volume 1 From Discovery of America October 12, 1492 to Battle of Lexington April 19, 1775 Julian Hawthorne 1890

  • From this he inferred the existence of two distinct natures in man, the mental and the physical, and the existence of certain ideas which he called innate in the mind, and serving to connect it with the spiritual and invisible.

    Handbook of Universal Literature From the Best and Latest Authorities Anne C. Lynch Botta 1853

  • No, innate is the natural and predilection of behavior for a species which includes primate species such as “man”.

    Think Progress » Missouri lawmaker: Allowing gays to serve openly increases a military’s casualty rate. 2010

  • That is to say, certain innate personality traits predispose one to teaching/acting, but there are also techniques that can be learned and which can make an average actor/teacher a better one, and a good actor/teacher quite brilliant!

    P is for Presence « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • There is a certain innate nobility deep down in the hearts of all men, which forces them to admire a brave act, even if it is performed by an enemy.

    The Lost Poacher 2010

  • No, innate is the natural and predilection of behavior for a species which includes primate species such as “man”.

    Think Progress » Missouri lawmaker: Allowing gays to serve openly increases a military’s casualty rate. 2010

  • Under this view, the race and IQ question comes down to the question of whether African IQ deficits are like dark African skin, so pervasive across all imaginable environments that calling them innate is perfectly reasonable as a first approximation, or more like African-American success in popular music, for which we require no scientific evidence to attribute to the particular combination of history, culture and sociology of the present time.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Approaching Arguments That Have A Racist Past 2010

  • In addition, I would question whether someone can speak “unofficially” about differences between the sexes that he is calling innate while presiding over a world-class research institution.

    Choke Ph.D. Sian Beilock 2010

  • In addition, I would question whether someone can speak “unofficially” about differences between the sexes that he is calling innate while presiding over a world-class research institution.

    Choke Ph.D. Sian Beilock 2010

  • In addition, I would question whether someone can speak “unofficially” about differences between the sexes that he is calling innate while presiding over a world-class research institution.

    Choke Ph.D. Sian Beilock 2010

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  • innate

    October 5, 2023