inherent

[in-her-uhnt, -heer-]

adjective

1. existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute; inhering.

   an inherent distrust of strangers.

   Synonyms: ingrained, inbred, native, innate

2. Grammar.,  standing before a noun.

inherent

/ ɪnˈhɪərənt, -ˈhɛr- /

adjective

1. existing as an inseparable part; intrinsic

Other Word Forms

• inherently adverb
• noninherent adjective
• uninherent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inherent¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin inhaerent- (stem of inhaerēns ), present participle of the verb inhaerēre inhere; -ent

Synonym Study

See essential.

Example Sentences

Mr O'Brien says the film team made the environment look broken down, heavily overgrown with weeds and undergrowth, and with "almost a sense of rottenness inherent in the fabric of the building".

Read more on BBC

His scores, with their inherent rigor and overt religiosity, seemingly simple structure and patient exposition, conjure a world both foundational and unbound.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The performance underscores Porsche’s inherent strength and its potential for future improvement, he added.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“What we went to in the text was less the text itself and more the thematics that are inherent in the text.”

Read more on Salon

The producers said their gruesome portrayals of bear attacks were not gratuitous violence but a form of artistic expression "inherent to a monster thriller".

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• built-in 
• constitutional 
• deep-rooted 
• deep-seated 
• essential 
• fundamental 
• genetic 
• implicit 
• ingrained 
• innate 
• instinctive 
• internal 
• intrinsic 
• latent 
• natural