These words all refer to innate or superior ability. Genius , the strongest word, is conceived as a mental power far beyond explanation in terms of heritage or education and manifests itself by exceptional originality and extraordinary intelligence, surpassing that of most intellectually superior people: the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, whose notebooks, written in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, include designs of flying machines, improvements in weaponry, and complicated labour-saving mechanical systems utilizing gears and pulleys, as well as detailed scientific observations in biology, geology and other subjects. Genius may be applied particularly to one area: the artistic genius of a Picasso, whose unique achievement assure him of a dominant place in the history of modern art.

An aptitude is a natural or acquired ability to learn and become proficient, while a faculty is a particular mental skill or power. While aptitude suggests quickness in learning, often in gaining mastery of an academic discipline or artistic skill, faculty is at once more modest and more general in application, suggesting only an inherent attribute or skill.

• He lacks completely the faculty of self-criticism; an early aptitude for mathematics; he demonstrated his aptitude for music by the ease with which he picked out melodies by ear.

Talent is a particular and uncommon aptitude for some special work or activity; it is conceived of as an inborn resource that may or may not be developed. Whereas genius applies to general intellectual or artistic superiority, talent is a specific natural endowment or gift : a talent for designing beautiful clothes for young women; a remarkable talent for staging and directing plays. Genius may also be used in the sense of special aptitude : to have a genius for turning a small investment into a successful business. Gift is akin to genius but on a lower plane: the gift of a poet’s sensibility and verbal acumen. Gift emphasizes the inborn quality of a skill. Unlike talent , gift does not necessarily imply creative ability, nor even originality: a gift of intensely appreciating music; the gift of enjoying life. Gift may apply to any striking or remarkable personal ability or power.

Whereas faculty is most often used positively when applied to an interpersonal quality, talent , and especially genius , being progressively more exaggerated and figurative in such contexts, are often used negatively and emphatically, sometimes with comical effect.

• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time; He has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time; He has a positive genius for putting his foot in his mouth.

An instinct , as here considered, is a natural aptitude, in which sense it is really an extension of its basic psychobiological meaning referring to an animal’s innate tendency or response to act in ways that are essential to its development or preservation. Instinct usually implies innate disposition rather than talent .

• Good salesmen know by instinct the best approach to take with a particular customer; He has the instincts of an athlete: he really goes all out to win.

Instinct can, however, be used of qualities that are not inborn but have been so thoroughly acquired that they seem as if they were: an instinct for making money; to develop an instinct for staying out of trouble. In this sense instinct is close to knack , which refers to an ability to do something readily and well; knack applies more often to social situations than to intellectual ones: a knack of knowing when to leave a party; Some people have the knack of being able to keep silent without making others feel ill at ease.

Bent refers to personal inclination or penchant; it does not necessarily imply an accompanying aptitude, but since it is human nature to like doing what one does well, aptitude and bent are often present in the same person.

• My son has a mechanical bent – he’s always tearing motors apart and putting them back together again; Politicians seldom have any aesthetic bent ; From his earliest years he had a literary bent , but never showed much aptitude for writing creatively.

Bent often suggests devotion and industry: He demonstrated his bent for music by practising six hours a day.