Intuition /(?)/

In·tu·i·tion

Intuition

n.
  1. A looking after; a regard to. [Obs.]
    What, no reflection on a reward! He might have an intuition at it, as the encouragement, though not the cause, of his pains.
  2. Direct apprehension or cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception or consciousness; -- distinguished from “mediate” knowledge, as in reasoning; as, the mind knows by intuition that black is not white, that a circle is not a square, that three are more than two, etc.; quick or ready insight or apprehension.
    Sagacity and a nameless something more, -- let us call it intuition.
  3. Any object or truth discerned by intuition.
  4. Any quick insight, recognized immediately without a reasoning process; a belief arrived at unconsciously; -- often it is based on extensive experience of a subject.
  5. The ability to have insight into a matter without conscious thought; as, his chemical intuition allowed him to predict compound conformations without any conscious calculation; a mother's intuition often tells her what is best for her child.