inner

[in-er]

adjective

1. situated within or farther within; interior.

   an inner door.

2. more intimate, private, or secret.

   the inner workings of the organization.

3. of or relating to the mind or spirit; mental; spiritual.

   the inner life.

4. not obvious; hidden or obscure.

   an inner meaning.

5. noting or relating to an aspect of a person's mind or personality that has not been fully discovered, revealed, or expressed.

   a place where anyone can find their inner artist regardless of skill level.

inner

/ ˈɪnə /

adjective

1. being or located further inside

   an inner room

2. happening or occurring inside

   inner movement

3. relating to the soul, mind, spirit, etc

   inner feelings

4. more profound or obscure; less apparent

   the inner meaning

5. exclusive or private

   inner regions of the party

6. chem (of a compound) having a cyclic structure formed or apparently formed by reaction of one functional group in a molecule with another group in the same molecule

   an inner ester

noun

1. Also called: red. archery

   1. the red innermost ring on a target

   2. a shot which hits this ring

Other Word Forms

• innerly adverb
• innerness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inner¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English innera, comparative based on the adv. inne within, inside; inmost , -er ⁴

Example Sentences

"The most convincing scenario is that most of the building blocks of Earth and Theia originated in the inner Solar System. Earth and Theia are likely to have been neighbors."

Read more on Science Daily

He ran a well-oiled machine, with members of his inner circle performing specific roles.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“That song is about somebody’s inner child being in the middle of a labyrinth, and you’re trying to find them so you can convince them that you’re in love,” Jesso tells me.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As if unwilling to reveal anything of his inner self, Dillon kept his desktop bare save for a pencil, a notebook and a telephone.

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While Herodotus suggests the workings of fate in the earlier Persian Wars by reporting multiple opinions, Thucydides, likely influenced by Sophist philosophy, stages Athens’s inner conflict during the Peloponnesian War through imaginary dialogues.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal