innate, inborn, inbred, congenital, hereditary mean not acquired after birth. innate applies to qualities or characteristics that are part of one's inner essential nature.

A large and long-standing body of research literature shows that toy preferences, for example, are innate, not socially constructed or shaped by parental feedback.

Definition of innate adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

An innate quality or ability is one which a person is born with. They have an innate sense of fairness. ...a society in which individuals could develop their innate abilities and capacities.

1. existing in one from birth; inborn; native: innate talents. 2. inherent in the character of something: an innate defect in the hypothesis. 3. arising from the intellect or the constitution of the mind, rather than …

Innate, inborn, congenital, hereditary describe qualities, characteristics, or possessions acquired before or at the time of birth.

Nov 26, 2025 · There is an innate light in every man, discovering to him the first lines of duty, in the common notions of good and evil, which, by cultivation and improvement, may be advanced to …

INNATE meaning: 1 : existing from the time a person or animal is born; 2 : existing as part of the basic nature of something

Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See a priori, intuitive.

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective innate, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.