intuition
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the power to understand something instantly without using logic or evidence.
the cognitive faculty of obtaining direct knowledge or belief without evident rational thought or inference.
Simple“She had a strong intuition that something was wrong, even though everyone seemed happy.”
In context“Experienced detectives often rely on intuition to guide their initial investigations before they have gathered sufficient forensic evidence.”
UsageOften used as an uncountable noun when referring to the general ability.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a specific feeling or idea that comes from your instinct rather than facts.
a specific insight, idea, or 'gut feeling' produced by the intuitive faculty.
Simple“My intuition told me not to trust the salesman, so I walked away.”
In context“The CEO's intuitions about market trends frequently proved more accurate than the data-driven projections provided by his analysts.”
UsageCommonly used as a countable noun with 'an' or in the plural.
“For decades, both scientific theories and everyday intuition have tended to describe decision-making as a sequence.”
“But I don't think it was meant to be literally true: I think it was meant to capture this intuition that dialogue on social media is more negative than it needs to be.”
From Middle French intuition, from Medieval Latin intuitiō (“a looking at, immediate cognition”), from Latin intueor (“to look at, consider”), from in- (“in, on”) + tueor (“to look, watch, guard, see, observe”). Equivalent to intuit + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.