What’s the difference between “inherent” and “ congenital”?
Here’s the question I encountered in a vocabulary practice:
“Because of their inherent ability to find their home, pigeons have been used to send messages by traveling nobleman for centuries.” The word “inherent” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. implicit
B. essential
C. built-in
D. congenital
The given answer is C.built-in, but I wonder why D. congenital isn’t correct.
Thank you for reading my question.

Question

Answer

"Congenital" is usually used to indicate something passed on through genetics. Often appears in medical contexts (as the other answer indicated). "Inherent" is much more frequent and has a wider range of meaning.

Answer

If you say their homing instinct is inherent, you are stressing that it is an inseparable part of the nature of the pigeon.
If you say it is congenital, you are saying it an abnormality or defect present from the time of its birth.

Hope this helps

Answer

It is usually used like this, a congential deformity. It has bad implication.

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