innate definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅nate

[i-neyt, in-eyt]

–adjective

1.	existing in one from birth; inborn; native: innate musical talent.

2.	inherent in the essential character of something: an innate defect in the hypothesis.

3.	originating in or arising from the intellect or the constitution of the mind, rather than learned through experience: an innate knowledge of good and evil.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L innātus inborn, ptp. of innāscī to be born, arise, equiv. to in- in- ² + nāscī to be born; cf. nascent, nativity

Related forms:

in⋅nate⋅ly, adverb

in⋅nate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. natural, congenital. Innate, inborn, congenital, hereditary describe qualities, characteristics, or possessions acquired before or at the time of birth. Innate, of Latin origin, and inborn, a native English word, share the literal basic sense “existing at the time of birth,” and they are interchangeable in most contexts: innate (or inborn) stodginess, agility, gracefulness. Congenital refers most often to characteristics acquired during fetal development, especially defects or undesirable conditions: a congenital deformity; congenital blindness. Hereditary describes qualities or things passed on from ancestors, either through the genes or by social or legal means: Hemophilia is a hereditary condition; a hereditary title.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To innate

in·nate (ĭ-nāt', ĭn'āt')

adj.

Possessed at birth; inborn.
Possessed as an essential characteristic; inherent.
Of or produced by the mind rather than learned through experience: an innate knowledge of right and wrong.

[Middle English innat, from Latin innātus, past participle of innāscī, to be born in : in-, in; see in-² + nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
in·nate'ly adv., in·nate'ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean existing in a person or thing from birth or origin. Something that is innate seems essential to the nature, character, or constitution: innate common sense.
Inborn strongly implies that something has been present since birth: inborn intelligence.
What is inbred has often been ingrained through earliest training or associations: an inbred love of music.
Congenital is applied principally to characteristics, especially defects, acquired during fetal development: a congenital disease.
It is also used figuratively of characteristics or people with characteristics that are so deep-seated as to appear natural: a congenital pessimism; a congenital liar.
Hereditary refers to what is transmitted by biological heredity (a hereditary heart anomaly) or by tradition: "that ignorance and superstitiousness hereditary to all sailors" (Herman Melville).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Innate

In"nate\, a. [L. innatus; pref. in- in + natus born, p. p. of nasci to be born. See Native.]

1. Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence.

2. (Metaph.) Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See A priori, Intuitive.

There is an innate light in every man, discovering to him the first lines of duty in the common notions of good and evil. --South.

Men would not be guilty if they did not carry in their mind common notions of morality,innate and written in divine letters. --Fleming (Origen).

If I could only show,as I hope I shall . . . how men, barely by the use of their natural faculties, may attain to all the knowledge they have, without the help of any innate impressions; and may arrive at certainty without any such original notions or principles. --Locke.

3. (Bot.) Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament; as, an innate anther. --Gray.

Innate ideas (Metaph.), ideas, as of God, immortality, right and wrong, supposed by some to be inherent in the mind, as a priori principles of knowledge.

Innate

In*nate"\, v. t. To cause to exit; to call into being. [Obs.] "The first innating cause." --Marston.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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innate

c.1412, from L. innatus "inborn," pp. of innasci "to be born in, originate in," from in- "in" + nasci "to be born" (Old L. gnasci).

Main Entry: in·nate
Pronunciation: in-'At, 'in-"
Function: adjective
: existing in, belonging to, or determined by factors present in an individualfrom birth : NATIVE, INBORN <innatebehavior> —in·nate·ly adverb —in·nate·ness noun

innate in·nate (ĭ-nāt', ĭn'āt')
adj.
Possessed at birth; inborn.

in·nate'ness n.

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