instinctively
in·stinc·tive·ly/ɪnˈstɪŋktɪvli/adverb
instinctively is spelled I-N-S-T-I-N-C-T-I-V-E-L-Y: 13 letters and 4 syllables (in·stinc·tive·ly). It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, instinctively means “Innately; by instinct; without being taught” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in instinctively?
| Letters | 13: I-N-S-T-I-N-C-T-I-V-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: in·stinc·tive·ly |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is instinctively?
Instinctively appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce instinctively?
- /ɪnˈstɪŋktɪvli/
Instinctively has 4 syllables, split in·stinc·tive·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-instinctively.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of instinctively
- more instinctively comparative
- most instinctively superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does instinctively mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Innately; by instinct; without being taught.
Fish instinctively know how to swim; most humans don't.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instinctively in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense innately, by instinct, without being taught:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | instinctivement |
| German | unwillkürlich |
| Spanish | instintivamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does instinctively come from?
From instinctive + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).