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Instinct vs Subconscious - What's the difference?

instinct | subconscious |

As nouns the difference between instinct and subconscious

is that instinct is a natural or inherent impulse or behaviour while subconscious is that part of the mind that is not consciously perceived; one's innermost thoughts.

As adjectives the difference between instinct and subconscious

is that instinct is imbued, charged ({{term|with}} something) while subconscious is partially conscious.

instinct

English

(wikipedia instinct)

Noun

  • A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.
    • Many animals fear fire by instinct .
  • * Shakespeare
    • By a divine instinct , men's minds mistrust / Ensuing dangers.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1921 , title= , author=Bertrand Russell , passage=In spite of these qualifications, the broad distinction between instinct and habit is undeniable. To take extreme cases, every animal at birth can take food by instinct, before it has had opportunity to learn; on the other hand, no one can ride a bicycle by instinct, though, after learning, the necessary movements become just as automatic as if they were instinctive.}}
  • 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

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (archaic) Imbued, charged ((with) something).
  • * Milton
    • The chariot of paternal deity / Itself instinct with spirit, but convoyed / By four cherubic shapes.
  • * Brougham
    • a noble performance, instinct with sound principle
  • * 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.

    External links

    * * ----

    subconscious

    English

    (wikipedia subconscious)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • partially conscious.
  • below the level of consciousness.
    • The sense of smell can be a subconscious influence on our actions.

    Noun

  • that part of the mind that is not consciously perceived; one's innermost thoughts
    • A person can sometimes wake up knowing the solution to a problem that their subconscious has been working on.

    Synonyms

    * subconsciousness * subconscious mind