mindmap root((天生)) innate applies to qualities or characteristics that are part of one's inner essential nature: a person with an ~ sense of his own superiority. inborn suggests a quality or tendency either actually present at birth or so marked and deep-seated as to seem so: her ~ love for rugged, outdoorsy life. inbred suggests something acquired from parents, either by heredity or nurture, or deep-rooted and ingrained: a person with ~ extremist political views. congenital applies to things acquired before or at birth during fetal development: a ~ heart murmur. hereditary applies to things acquired before or at birth and transmitted from one's ancestors: eye color is ~.