gut reaction

British

noun

a reaction to a situation derived from a person's instinct and experience

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Aymann Ismail: What was your gut reaction to the news of the pardons?

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2025

I have a very gut reaction to things and if it's not a 'Hell yes!' it's usually a 'No'.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2024

"This way, we're measuring gut reaction to the light turning on -- which hand will you use on the spot?"

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023

“It seems the gut reaction should be, ‘No, minors should not get tattoos,’ but minors will get tattoos,” Kakoulas said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2022

My gut reaction is to volunteer just so I can look after Garrett.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023