internal

[in-tur-nl]

adjective

1. situated or existing in the interior of something; interior.

   Antonyms: external

2. of, relating to, or noting the inside or inner part.

   Antonyms: external

3. Pharmacology.,  oral.

4. existing, occurring, or found within the limits or scope of something; intrinsic.

   a theory having internal logic.

5. of or relating to the domestic affairs of a country.

   the internal politics of a nation.

6. existing solely within the individual mind.

   internal malaise.

7. coming from, produced, or motivated by the psyche or inner recesses of the mind; subjective.

   an internal response.

8. Anatomy, Zoology.,  inner; not superficial; away from the surface or next to the axis of the body or of a part.

   the internal carotid artery.

9. present or occurring within an organism or one of its parts.

   an internal organ.

noun

1. Usually internals. entrails; innards.

2. an inner or intrinsic attribute.

internal

/ ɪnˈtɜːnəl /

adjective

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

2. coming or acting from within; interior

3. involving the spiritual or mental life; subjective

4. of or involving a nation's domestic as opposed to foreign affairs

5. education denoting assessment by examiners who are employed at the candidate's place of study

6. situated within, affecting, or relating to the inside of the body

noun

1. a medical examination of the vagina, uterus, or rectum

Other Word Forms

• internality noun
• internalness noun
• internally adverb
• quasi-internal adjective
• quasi-internally adverb
• semi-internal adjective
• semi-internally adverb
• subinternal adjective
• subinternally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of internal¹

First recorded in 1500–10; from Medieval Latin internālis, equivalent to Latin intern(us) intern ³ + ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of internal¹

C16: from Medieval Latin internālis, from Late Latin internus inward

Example Sentences

The platform allows organizations to go beyond chatbots to create complex AI agents that can automate multistep workflows from their own internal data.

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Hungarian citizens working for EU institutions were instructed to leak sensitive internal documents to its agents, the report added.

Read more on Barron's

A review of internal data by the airline lobby International Air Transport Association, calculated a total rate of 800 per million departures in the U.S., according to an internal document from a member carrier.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“Sometimes,” Stacy said, “she has this internal battle of how to keep that tiger under control but let it free at the same time.”

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The commission said steel exports from Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein wouldn’t be subject to tariff quotas or duties given their close integration with the EU’s internal market.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• constitutional 
• domestic 
• in-house 
• intramural 
• national 
• private 
• subjective