interior

[in-teer-ee-er]

adjective

1. being within; inside of anything; internal; inner; further toward a center.

   the interior rooms of a house.

   Antonyms: exterior

2. of or relating to that which is within; inside.

   an interior view.

3. situated well inland from the coast or border.

   the interior towns of a country.

4. of or relating to the inland.

5. domestic.

   interior trade.

6. private or hidden; inner.

   interior negotiations of the council.

7. pertaining to the mind or soul; mental or spiritual.

   the interior life.

noun

1. the internal or inner part; inside.

   Antonyms: exterior

2. Architecture.

   1. the inside part of a building, considered as a whole from the point of view of artistic design or general effect, convenience, etc.

   2. a single room or apartment so considered.

3. a pictorial representation of the inside of a room.

4. the inland parts of a region, country, etc..

   the Alaskan interior.

5. the domestic affairs of a country as distinguished from its foreign affairs.

   the Department of the Interior.

6. the inner or inward nature or character of anything.

7. Mathematics.,  the largest open set contained in a given set, as the points in a circle not including the boundary.

interior

¹

/ ɪnˈtɪərɪə /

noun

1. a part, surface, or region that is inside or on the inside

   the interior of Africa

2. inner character or nature

3. a film or scene shot inside a building, studio, etc

4. a picture of the inside of a room or building, as in a painting or stage design

5. the inside of a building or room, with respect to design and decoration

adjective

1. of, situated on, or suitable for the inside; inner

2. coming or acting from within; internal

3. of or involving a nation's domestic affairs; internal

4. (esp of one's spiritual or mental life) secret or private; not observable

Interior

²

/ ɪnˈtɪərɪə /

noun

1. (in titles) the domestic or internal affairs of any of certain countries

   Department of the Interior

Other Word Forms

• interiority noun
• interiorly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of interior¹

First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin, comparative adjective equivalent to inter- “inward” + -ior comparative suffix; exterior

Word History and Origins

Origin of interior¹

C15: from Latin (adj), comparative of inter within

Synonym Study

See inside.

Example Sentences

The city's fire department on Thursday said firefighters faced major challenges trying to rescue residents, including high temperatures, the risk of further scaffolding collapse, and the small and crowded interiors of the apartments.

Read more on BBC

Her fiction, so alive to sensory experience and the interior struggles of the mind and heart, helped extend the literary tradition of Virginia Woolf, a modernist whom Welty deeply admired.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The former head of the interior department in Mazón's government, Salomé Pradas, has been named as a possible suspect in the investigation.

Read more on BBC

A senior officer additionally confirmed the arrest to AFP, adding that Embalo had been detained "with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior".

Read more on Barron's

With the cooperation of the current owners, the entire interior of the house is made to look how it once was by a production team working from photographs taken almost 30 years ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• internal 
• remote