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immanent

[im-uh-nuhnt]
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adjective
  1. remaining within; indwelling; inherent.
  2. Philosophy. (of a mental act) taking place within the mind of the subject and having no effect outside of it.Compare transeunt.
  3. Theology. (of the Deity) indwelling the universe, time, etc.Compare transcendent(def 3).
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Origin of immanent

1525–35; < Late Latin immanent- (stem of immanēns), present participle of immanēre to stay in, equivalent to im- im-1 + man(ēre) to stay + -ent- -ent; see remain
Related formsim·ma·nence, im·ma·nen·cy, nounim·ma·nent·ly, adverbnon·im·ma·nence, nounnon·im·ma·nen·cy, nounnon·im·ma·nent, adjectivenon·im·ma·nent·ly, adverbun·im·ma·nent, adjectiveun·im·ma·nent·ly, adverb
Can be confusedeminent immanent imminent

Synonyms

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1. innate, inborn, intrinsic.

Antonyms

1. extrinsic, acquired, superimposed.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

inborninherentintrinsicindwelling

Examples from the Web for immanent

Historical Examples

  • Nor shall his theory of immanent morality trouble him for the while.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • Also he sometimes supposes that God is immanent in the world, sometimes that he is transcendent.

    Timaeus

    Plato

  • An immanent presence, greater certainly than could be any gigantic statue.

  • And nature, as attached to its immanent principle, is called God.

    Christianity and Greek Philosophy

    Benjamin Franklin Cocker

  • A law connects changing terms and is immanent in what it governs.

    Creative Evolution

    Henri Bergson

British Dictionary definitions for immanent

immanent

adjective
  1. existing, operating, or remaining within; inherent
  2. of or relating to the pantheistic conception of God, as being present throughout the universeCompare transcendent (def. 3)
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Derived Formsimmanence or immanency, nounimmanently, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin immanēre to remain in, from im- (in) + manēre to stay
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for immanent

adj.

"indwelling, inherent," 1530s, via French, from Late Latin immanens, present participle of Latin immanere "to dwell in, remain in," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + manere "to dwell" (see manor). Contrasted with transcendent. Related: Immanently.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper