inward

[ in-werd ]

/ ˈɪn wərd /

adverb Also in·wards.

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

into or toward the mind or soul: He turned his thoughts inward.

Obsolete.

on the inside or interior.
in the mind or soul; mentally or spiritually.

adjective

proceeding or directed toward the inside or interior.

situated within or in or on the inside; inner; internal: an inward room.

pertaining to the inside or inner part.

located within the body: the inward parts.

pertaining to the inside of the body: inward convulsions.

inland: inward passage.

mental or spiritual; inner: inward peace.

muffled or indistinct, as the voice.

private or secret.

closely personal; intimate.

Archaic. pertaining to the homeland; domestic.

noun

the inward or internal part; the inside.

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

Words nearby inward

invt., invulnerable, invultuation, inwale, inwall, inward, inward dive, inward light, inwardly, inwardness, inwards

Origin of inward

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for inwards

“Anyone who looks only inwards is not going to be as successful as someone who looks outside, the world over,” Bratton said.
Can Bratton Save Britain?|William Underhill|August 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But over the inwards of the wedding must I not linger, for much is yet to write.
In Convent Walls|Emily Sarah Holt
The inferior extremity articulates with the carpus by a surface which is directed obliquely downwards and inwards.
Artistic Anatomy of Animals|douard Cuyer
She looked a shade older, a shade thinner in the face, her sweet eyes a little sunk inwards.
The Lowest Rung|Mary Cholmondeley

Hence the intensity of responsive electric change will decline in both directions outwards and inwards.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The vicar-general of Goa, Ambrosia Ribera, would himself examine, if the inwards were corresponding to the outward appearances.
The Works of John Dryden, Volume XVI. (of 18)|John Dryden

British Dictionary definitions for inwards (1 of 2)

inwards

adverb (ˈɪnwədz) inward

towards the interior or middle of something

in, into, or towards the mind or spirit

pl n (ˈɪnədz)

a variant spelling of innards

British Dictionary definitions for inwards (2 of 2)

inward

/ (ˈɪnwəd) /

adjective

going or directed towards the middle of or into something

situated within; inside

of, relating to, or existing in the mind or spiritinward meditation

of one's own country or a specific countryinward investment

adverb

a variant of inwards (def. 1)

noun

the inward part; inside

Derived forms of inward

inwardness, noun

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