| / English Dictionary |
INBORN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Normally existing at birth
Example:
mankind's connatural sense of the good
Synonyms:
connatural; inborn; inbred
Classified under:
Similar:
native (belonging to one by birth)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
Synonyms:
congenital; inborn; innate
Classified under:
Similar:
nonheritable; noninheritable (not inheritable)
Context examples:
Save in the one matter of having an inborn readiness for music, so that the mastery of any instrument comes very easily and naturally to me, I cannot recall any single advantage which I can boast over my fellows.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I still believe him, in virtue of this carriage, his animal spirits, his delightful voice, his handsome face and figure, and, for aught I know, of some inborn power of attraction besides (which I think a few people possess), to have carried a spell with him to which it was a natural weakness to yield, and which not many persons could withstand.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
He expressed once, and but once in my hearing, a strong sense of the rugged charm of the hills, and an inborn affection for the dark roof and hoary walls he called his home; but there was more of gloom than pleasure in the tone and words in which the sentiment was manifested; and never did he seem to roam the moors for the sake of their soothing silence—never seek out or dwell upon the thousand peaceful delights they could yield.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
