The intuitive meaning has two sides: understanding something by instinct or feeling rather than by working it out step by step, and, for a tool or design, being easy to use without needing instructions. Both grow from intuition, the noun for that quick, inner sense of knowing that people often call a gut feeling.
You might say a nurse has strong intuition about which patient is getting worse, or that a new phone app is intuitive because you understood it in seconds. This page explains both words, how they connect, and how to use them.
Entry at a glance
Intuition
Noun: knowing or sensing something without conscious reasoningIntuitive
Adjective: based on intuition; or easy to understand and usePronunciation
intuition: in-too-ISH-uhn; intuitive: in-TOO-ih-tivWord forms
intuit (verb), intuitively (adverb), counterintuitive (adjective)Origin
Late Latin intuitio, a looking at, from intueri, to look at or considerOpposite
Reasoning, analysis; for design: confusing, counterintuitiveClose words
Instinct, hunch, gut feeling, insight
Intuition definition in plain English
The usual definition of intuition, and the intuition meaning in English most learners need, is the ability to understand or know something immediately, without being able to explain the steps. It feels like a hunch or a sudden sense that something is right or wrong. Psychologists often describe it as fast thinking that draws on past experience stored below conscious awareness, which is why experts in a field tend to have sharper intuition about it.
To define intuition in one line: knowing without knowing how you know. It is not magic, and it is not always right, but it can be a useful early signal.
Intuitive meaning: the two senses
- Based on feeling rather than reasoning. She has an intuitive grasp of music; she plays by ear. An intuitive person tends to trust hunches and read situations quickly.
- Easy to use or understand. The new ticket machine is intuitive; even first-time visitors manage it. This sense is common in design, software and teaching.
The second sense makes sense once you know the first: an intuitive design works the way your gut expects it to, and no manual is required. So the definition of intuitive you need, or how you define intuitive for a reader, depends on whether you are describing a person or a product.
Examples in sentences
- My intuition told me the cheap flat was too good to be true, and it was.
- Good teachers have an intuitive sense of when a class has stopped listening.
- The menu layout is so intuitive that customers order without asking staff.
- He intuitively slowed down before the bend, seconds before a cow wandered onto the road.
- It sounds counterintuitive, but resting more can make you train better.
Using intuit, intuitive and counterintuitive
The family of words behaves like this:
| Word | Type | Sample use |
|---|---|---|
| intuition | noun | trust your intuition |
| intuitive | adjective | an intuitive app, an intuitive player |
| intuitively | adverb | she intuitively knew |
| intuit | verb, formal | he intuited that something was wrong |
| counterintuitive | adjective | a counterintuitive result |
Common pairings: follow your intuition, a strong intuition, female intuition (an old phrase some now avoid as a stereotype), intuitive interface, intuitive understanding. Counterintuitive means going against what you would expect, as in many results in a paradox.
Origin of the words
Intuition comes from Late Latin intuitio, a looking at or consideration, from Latin intueri, to look at, consider or watch over. It appeared in English in the fifteenth century, first as a religious and philosophical term for direct spiritual insight. The verb intuit, in its modern sense of perceiving directly, came much later, in the nineteenth century. The design sense of intuitive is a modern extension.
Intuition, instinct and reasoning
Instinct is inborn behavior that needs no learning, like a baby gripping a finger. Intuition is often built from experience, like a chef sensing a sauce is about to burn. Reasoning works step by step and can be checked. Discernment sits between them: careful judgment that may start with a hunch and then test it. Thinking about your own hunches is a form of introspection. Character and mood vocabulary of this kind is grouped under people and feelings on this site.
Frequently asked questions
What does intuition mean in simple words?
Intuition is a feeling that you know something is true or right without being able to explain why. People also call it a gut feeling or a hunch.
What does intuitive mean when describing a person?
An intuitive person understands people and situations quickly by feel. They often sense moods or problems before others notice them.
What does intuitive mean in design?
It means easy to use without instructions. An intuitive website or device works the way people naturally expect, so users can figure it out right away.
How do you pronounce intuition and intuitive?
Intuition is in-too-ISH-uhn, with the third syllable loudest. Intuitive is in-TOO-ih-tiv, with the second syllable loudest. Some speakers say in-tyoo in both.
Is intuition always right?
No. Intuition can be shaped by bias or wrong past experience. It works best in areas where you have real experience, and it is wise to check important hunches with facts.
What is the meaning of intuition in psychology?
Psychologists treat intuition as fast, automatic thinking that relies on patterns learned over time. It is usually contrasted with slower, deliberate reasoning.