# innate

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪˈneɪt/ · frequency rank #15,432

## Definitions
1. Inborn; existing or having existed since birth.
2. Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience.
3. Instinctive; coming from instinct.
4. Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament.

## Etymology
The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, 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).

## Easily confused with
- **irate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-irate)
- **innit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-innit)
- **insane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-insane)
- **invite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-invite)
- **intake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-intake)
- **invade** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-invade)
- **innovate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/innate-vs-innovate)
- **inna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inna-vs-innate)
- **inane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inane-vs-innate)
- **inmate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inmate-vs-innate)
- **ignite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ignite-vs-innate)
- **inhale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inhale-vs-innate)
- **incite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/incite-vs-innate)
- **incase** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/incase-vs-innate)
- **inflate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inflate-vs-innate)

## Common misspellings (6)
`inante`, `inate`, `innaet`, `innatte`, `inntae`, `ninate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/innate