inward

American  

[in-werd] / ˈɪn wərd /

adverb

1. toward the inside, interior, or center, as of a place, space, or body.

2. into or toward the mind or soul.

   He turned his thoughts inward.

3. Obsolete.

   1. on the inside or interior.

   2. in the mind or soul; mentally or spiritually.

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adjective

1. proceeding or directed toward the inside or interior.

2. situated within or in or on the inside; inner; internal.

   an inward room.

3. pertaining to the inside or inner part.

4. located within the body.

   the inward parts.

5. pertaining to the inside of the body.

   inward convulsions.

6. inland.

   inward passage.

7. mental or spiritual; inner.

   inward peace.

8. muffled or indistinct, as the voice.

9. private or secret.

10. closely personal; intimate.

11. Archaic. pertaining to the homeland; domestic.

noun

1. the inward or internal part; the inside.

2. inwards, the inward parts of the body; entrails; innards.

inward British  

/ ˈɪnwəd /

adjective

1. going or directed towards the middle of or into something

2. situated within; inside

3. of, relating to, or existing in the mind or spirit

   inward meditation

4. of one's own country or a specific country

   inward investment

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adverb

1. a variant of inwards

noun

1. the inward part; inside

Other Word Forms

• inwardness noun

Etymology

Origin of inward

before 900; Middle English; Old English inweard. See in, -ward

Example Sentences

But if that shock wave is too weak to eject the surrounding material, much of the star can fall back inward.

From Science Daily

“Coal de-merger? Have discussions with another possible merger partner? Focus inward on its own copper portfolio?”

From The Wall Street Journal

But she had died, nine years ago, and his father had contracted, as if a weight had settled on him and concertinaed him downward and inward.

From Literature

Singh's voice - inward and raw - had the opposite effect, reintroducing vulnerability to Bollywood audiences as an acceptable emotion.

From BBC

I can almost feel the satisfaction, the inward chuckle that must have accompanied the writing of it.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• inbound