01 a. Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence.
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1.
Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence.
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2.
Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See A priori, Intuitive.(Metaph.) See: A priori, Intuitive“There is an innate light in every man, discovering to him the first lines of duty in the common notions of good and evil.” — South.“Men would not be guilty if they did not carry in their mind common notions of morality, innate and written in divine letters.” — Fleming (Origen).“If I could only show, as I hope I shall . . . how men, barely by the use of their natural faculties, may attain to all the knowledge they have, without the help of any innate impressions; and may arrive at certainty without any such original notions or principles.” — Locke.
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3.
Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament; as, an innate anther.(Bot.)
Phrases & compounds
Innate ideas —
ideas, as of God, immortality, right and wrong, supposed by some to be inherent in the mind, as a priori principles of knowledge.