Innate response to a threatening situation (5-2-6)
I believe the answer is:
fight-or-flight
(Another definition for fight-or-flight that I've seen is " Instinctive response to a sudden threat".)
I've seen this clue in The New York Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free.
Check out my app
or
learn more
about the Crossword Genius project.