inward
Americanadverb
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toward the inside, interior, or center, as of a place, space, or body.
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into or toward the mind or soul.
He turned his thoughts inward.
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Obsolete.
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on the inside or interior.
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in the mind or soul; mentally or spiritually.
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adjective
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proceeding or directed toward the inside or interior.
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situated within or in or on the inside; inner; internal.
an inward room.
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pertaining to the inside or inner part.
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located within the body.
the inward parts.
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pertaining to the inside of the body.
inward convulsions.
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inland.
inward passage.
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mental or spiritual; inner.
inward peace.
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muffled or indistinct, as the voice.
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private or secret.
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closely personal; intimate.
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Archaic. pertaining to the homeland; domestic.
noun
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the inward or internal part; the inside.
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inwards, the inward parts of the body; entrails; innards.
adjective
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going or directed towards the middle of or into something
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situated within; inside
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of, relating to, or existing in the mind or spirit
inward meditation
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of one's own country or a specific country
inward investment
adverb
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inward
before 900; Middle English; Old English inweard. See in, -ward
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.
When not looking backward, or inward to personal traumas, American novelists have turned their gaze to the uncertain future.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
Not only does this encourage inward investment to the U.S., but it creates competition for that capital between hyperscalers, with their ambitious capex proposals, and the Treasury Department with its hefty borrowing requirements.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026
That study described how "international inward migration for Northern Ireland is very much a euro-centric experience with a relatively limited pull on international migration from outside the EU".
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
But where other artists might have spiraled, White and his compatriots transcended, turning inward while also looking to the stars.
From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026
I tried again to sleep; but my heart beat anxiously: my inward tranquillity was broken.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
