maternal instinct

collocation in English

meaningsofmaternalandinstinct

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withinstinct.
maternal
adjective
uk
/məˈtɜː.nəl/us
/məˈtɝː.nəl/
behaving or feeling in the way that a mother does towards her child, especially in a kind, ...
See more atmaternal
instinct
noun[C or U]
uk
/ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/us
/ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/
the way people or animals naturally react or behave, without having to think or learn ...
See more atinstinct

(Definition ofmaternalandinstinctfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofmaternal instinct

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Such explanations are illustrated in the responses which referred tomaternalinstinct, discussed in the previous section, and in the following account.
From theCambridge English Corpus
On the other hand, none of these respondents' wives mentioned feeling anymaternalinstinct.
From theCambridge English Corpus
It is therefore difficult to assess what was being referred to bymaternalinstinct.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Seven respondents, however, did refer to the belief in amaternalinstinct; six of these were men and felt that their wives wanted children more than they did.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Men do not have amaternalinstinctand their sense of paternal responsibility develops rather later.
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
There you have a woman whosematernalinstinctis constantly battling with her love of husband and home and her sense of responsibility.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Thematernalinstinctthen is much more profound, and in such a case is stirred to its very depths.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Ourmaternalinstinctis so strong that we take within our embrace not only our children but our husbands.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Undoubtedly, he must be in a very difficult position in judging thematernalinstinct.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
My better judgment was clouded by mymaternalinstinct, she stated in court.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Millie sees that he is just a boy and that awakes amaternalinstinctin her.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Women have thematernalinstinctto aid, assist, embrace and invest in their offspring.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
She is well-behaved and also has a strongmaternalinstinct, as shown when she adopted a stray kitten as her own.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Belties are generally of a quiet temperament, but still maintain a strongmaternalinstinctand will protect a calf against perceived threats.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Hetty sometimes exhibits amaternalinstincttowards her agents.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
She has, for example, no innatematernalinstinct.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofmaternal
Go to the definition ofinstinct
See other collocations withinstinct