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  • interior
    interior
    adjective
    being within; inside of anything; internal; inner; further toward a center.
  • Interior
    Interior
    noun
    (in titles) the domestic or internal affairs of any of certain countries
Synonyms

interior

American  
[in-teer-ee-er] / ɪnˈtɪər i ər /

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

  • interiors
    plural
  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 British  
/ 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

"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

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

"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
Interior 2 British  
/ ɪnˈtɪərɪə /

noun

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

    Department of the Interior

"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

Synonym Usage

See inside.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of interior

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

Explanation

Interior commonly refers to the inside of something. When house hunting you might find that the outside of the house is run down, but the interior rooms beautifully renovated. If you design the color scheme of a room and pick our furnishings for it, you are an interior designer. If you delve into a characters feelings and emotions, you might describe what you're looking at as their interior. A place that lies far inland from a coast or border is said to lie in the interior of a country. If you talk to yourself inside your mind, you are said to be having an interior monologue.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing interior

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But Saramago is distinguished from his predecessors by his optimism, infusing his creations with an unusual interior life and capacity for empathy.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 11, 2026

The L-shaped home, which boasts a Japanese garden, has been expanded over the years and underwent an interior renovation in the 1990s.

From MarketWatch Sep. 9, 2026

The goal is a quick dip, not a hot-tub soak: enough liquid to soften the interior of the bread while leaving plenty of edges available to crisp.

From Salon Sep. 6, 2026

Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford and Tyler Davis are among the interior linemen who have taken reps since training camp began in July.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

The Doors slid open, revealing the gilded interior of an elevator car.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Ehrsam met with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum when they were both in Venezuela a few months after Maduro’s ouster.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 10, 2026

Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Interior Department to change the lake’s name in the U.S.

From Salon Aug. 29, 2026

The White House referred questions about the proposed deal to the Interior Department.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 28, 2026

Interior designer Clarke says artwork is probably the easiest way to make a rental feel more homely because it "instantly makes a space feel more occupied and finished".

From BBC Aug. 26, 2026

Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes greets Marian Anderson before introducing her to an outdoor audience of some 75,000 people.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman

Their interiors behave as electrical insulators, while their surfaces can conduct electricity.

From Science Daily Sep. 5, 2026

Fans were also impressed by the detailed locations on show, which included the interiors of apartments, rooftop bars and sleazy underground clubs.

From BBC Aug. 27, 2026

It is the seduction of surfaces Cusk is exploring here, the ways we are taken in by so much that is chimerical: lavish interiors, actors, our own doubled selves.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 24, 2026

Impact on bottom line: The new interiors are part of American’s plan to catch up to Delta and United, its more profitable rivals.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 19, 2026

There is no effective way for this heat, accumulated over billions of years, to reach the surface and be lost to space, and the radioactivity inside Ganymede and Callisto must therefore melt their icy interiors.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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