different between instinct vs succinct

English

Etymology

From Latin ?nstinctus, past participle of ?nstingu? (“to incite, to instigate”), from in (“in, on”) + stingu? (“to prick”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n.st??kt/

Noun

instinct (countable and uncountable, plural instincts)

1. A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

   Many animals fear fire by instinct.
2. An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

   an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct

   Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.

Derived terms

• instinctively
• instinctive

Translations

Adjective

instinct (comparative more instinct, superlative most instinct)

1. (archaic) Imbued, charged (with something).
   • 1838, Henry Brougham, Historical Sketches of Statesmen Who Flourished in the Time of George III

     a noble performance, instinct with sound principle

   • 1857, Charlotte Brontë, The Professor

     Her eyes, whose colour I had not at first known, so dim were they with repressed tears, so shadowed with ceaseless dejection, now, lit by a ray of the sunshine that cheered her heart, revealed irids of bright hazel – irids large and full, screened with long lashes; and pupils instinct with fire.

   • 1928, HP Lovecraft, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’:

     This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters.

Further reading

• instinct in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• instinct in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French instinct, from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?st??(k)t/
• Hyphenation: in?stinct
• Rhymes: -??kt

Noun

instinct n (plural instincten)

1. instinct (innate response, impulse or behaviour)

Derived terms

• instinctief
• instinctmatig
• moederinstinct
• vaderinstinct

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.t??/

Noun

instinct m (plural instincts)

1. instinct
2. gut feeling

Related terms

• instinctif

Further reading

• “instinct” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Romanian

Etymology

From French instinct

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in?stinkt/

Noun

instinct n (plural instincte)

1. instinct

Declension

Related terms

• instinctiv

English

Etymology

From Middle English succinte, succynt, from Old French succinct, from Latin succinctus, perfect passive participle of succing? (“gird from below”), from sub + cing? (“gird, wrap, surround”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /s?(k)?s??kt/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /s?k?s??(k)t/
• Hyphenation: suc?cinct

Adjective

succinct (comparative more succinct, superlative most succinct)

1. brief and to the point
2. compressed into a tiny area.

   Unlike general lossless data compression algorithms, succinct data structures retain the ability to use them in-place, without decompressing them first.

3. (archaic) wrapped by, or as if by a girdle; closely fitting, wound or wrapped or drawn up tightly.

Synonyms

• concise
• laconic
• See also Thesaurus:concise

Derived terms

• succinctness
• succinctly

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syk.s??/

Adjective

succinct (feminine singular succincte, masculine plural succincts, feminine plural succinctes)

1. succinct
2. (informal, figuratively) light

3. (by extension) Concise in its intentions.