a. [ L. innatus; pref. in- in + natus born, p. p. of nasci to be born. See Native. ] 1. Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. (Metaph.) Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See A priori, Intuitive. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 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). [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. (Bot.) Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament; as, an innate anther. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]
Innate ideas (Metaph.), ideas, as of God, immortality, right and wrong, supposed by some to be inherent in the mind, as a priori principles of knowledge. [ 1913 Webster ]
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