innate

Definition

Inborn; existing or having existed since birth.

Etymology

The adjective is first attested in the 1420's, the verb in 1602; from Middle English innat(e) (“innate, inborn”), borrowed from Latin innātus (“inborn, innate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), perfect active participle of innāscor (“to be born in, grow up in”), from in- (“in, at on”) + nāscor (“to be born”); see natal, native. The verb is derived from the adjective, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Example Sentences

• "Ironically, given France's innate reluctance to permit competition at home, the first breach in Renfe's monopoly came from SNCF offshoot Ouigo España in 2021."
• "innate ideas"
• "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 higher and brighter discoveries."

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