Meaning & use
intuitive
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Based on feelings or immediate understanding rather than conscious reasoning.
Grammar: Can be used before a noun (an intuitive feeling) or after a linking verb (she is intuitive).
Patterns
- intuitive feeling
- intuitive sense
- intuitive understanding
She had an intuitive sense that something was wrong.
His intuitive grasp of mathematics impressed his teachers.
Making decisions by intuition can be risky, but sometimes an intuitive choice is the best one.
adjectivecomparable
Easy to use or understand without needing instruction or conscious thought.
Grammar: Often describes software, designs, or interfaces: the app is intuitive.
Patterns
- intuitive design
- intuitive interface
- intuitive to use
The new app is so intuitive that even my grandmother figured it out.
Good video games have intuitive controls that players learn without a manual.
The website's layout is intuitive, so visitors find what they need quickly.
Word forms
| comparative | more intuitive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most intuitive |
Common combinations
- intuitive sense
- She has an intuitive sense of what customers want.
- intuitive grasp
- He has an intuitive grasp of complex ideas.
- intuitive design
- The phone's intuitive design makes it popular.
- intuitive to use
- This software is intuitive to use.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instinctive
- Instinctive often refers to natural, automatic reactions in animals or humans, while intuitive emphasizes understanding without conscious reasoning.
- innate
- Innate means present from birth, whereas intuitive can also describe things learned or felt without deliberate thought.
- intuitively
- This is the adverb form; use it to describe how something is done (she intuitively knew).
Opposites
Word family
- intuition noun
- The ability to understand something immediately without conscious reasoning.
- intuitively adverb
- In a way that is based on feelings rather than reasoning.
- intuit verb
- To know or understand something by intuition.
Commonly confused: intuitive or intuitively? intuitive or intuition?
intuitive vs intuitively
Intuitive is an adjective (an intuitive person), while intuitively is an adverb (she intuitively knew).
intuitive vs intuition
Intuition is the noun; intuitive is the adjective. Don't say 'an intuitive' when you mean the noun.
Practice
The new software is very ______; you don't need a manual to start using it.
Choose one answer.
The adjective "intuitive" describes the software as easy to use without instruction. "Intuition" is a noun, "intuitively" is an adverb, and "intuit" is a verb, so none fit the adjective position after "very".
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intuitive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.