Intuited

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have achieved an understanding or insight without direct evidence or reasoning
2. Recognized or grasped immediately through instinct without using logical thought
3. Understood instinctively without the need for conscious analysis or proof

Etymology: "Intuited" is the past tense of "intuit," a verb that English formed backward from a noun, not the other way round. The noun "intuition" came first, and "intuit" was then carved out of it as a back-formation, the same way "edit" was later pulled out of "editor." The noun and its relatives trace to Latin "intuitus," meaning "observed" or "considered," which is the past participle of "intueor," "to look at, upon or towards." That Latin verb is built from "in-," meaning "in" or "inside," and "tueor," meaning "to look at" or "gaze at." So at the root of an idea that feels like a flash of inner knowing is a plain act of looking. Its family includes "tuition" and "tutor," words that also grew from the notion of watching over or attending to something.

Synonyms: perceived, sensed, recognized, discerned, understood

Antonyms: misunderstood, ignored, overlooked, doubted, questioned