Intuit

v.thoughtful, capableformal

What it means

To understand or sense something without conscious step-by-step reasoning.

Reach for it when describing rapid judgment while leaving its basis open to examination

Experienced restorers could intuit where the hidden brace would meet the wall.

everyday
sense
a faint impression or awareness is enough
not when Sense can arise from emotion and carries less confidence than intuit.
warm
feel
informal language should acknowledge a non-analytical impression
not when Feel can sound arbitrary and should not replace evidence in a high-stakes claim.
professional
infer
evidence supports a conclusion through reasoning
not when Inference is conscious and explainable, unlike the immediate grasp in intuit.
formal
discern
careful perception identifies a subtle difference
not when Discern may involve deliberate observation rather than intuition.
formal
surmise
a tentative conclusion is formed with incomplete evidence
not when Surmise stresses uncertainty and may involve explicit reasoning.
literary
apprehend
the mind grasps the meaning directly
not when Apprehend is elevated and can also mean arrest.

intuit the answer
She could intuit the answer but still wrote out the check.
intuit from context
Most readers can intuit from context which entrance the note describes.
difficult to intuit
The unlabeled control is difficult to intuit without trial and error.

Intuition can encode experience or bias. High-stakes decisions still need reasons, evidence, and a check against error.

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.