Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Located or existing within something: Refers to something situated inside a defined boundary, limit, or surface.
   • Relating to the inside of the body or an object: Pertaining to the inner parts, mechanisms, or organs.
   • Existing or occurring within an organization, country, or group: Concerning matters that happen inside a particular institution, nation, or community.
   • Relating to the mind or inner feelings: Pertaining to mental, spiritual, or subjective experiences.

Examples of Usage

• Located within something:
  • The internal mechanism of the clock is very complex.
  • The house has an internal courtyard.
• Relating to the inside of the body:
  • The patient suffered from internal bleeding.
  • The medicine is for internal use only.
• Within an organization or country:
  • The company is conducting an internal review.
  • The nation's internal politics are very stable.
• Relating to the mind or feelings:
  • She struggled with internal conflict.
  • He has a strong internal sense of justice.

Advanced Usage

• "Internal evidence": Evidence derived from the content or nature of the thing itself, rather than from external sources.
  • The historian used internal evidence from the manuscript to date it.
• "Internal monologue": The continuous stream of thoughts in a person's mind.
  • The novel uses internal monologue to reveal the character's fears.

Variants and Related Words

• Internally (adverb): In an internal manner; on the inside.
  • The issue was resolved internally.
• Internalize (verb): To make attitudes, behaviors, or beliefs part of one's nature by learning or unconscious assimilation.
  • Children internalize the values of their parents.
• Internality (noun): The quality or state of being internal.

Synonyms

• Inner: Situated inside or further in.
• Interior: Situated on the inside; inner.
• Domestic: Of or relating to a country's internal affairs.
• Inward: Directed or proceeding toward the inside.

Antonyms

• External: Belonging to or forming the outer surface or structure.
• Outer: Located outside; external.
• Exterior: Forming or situated on the outside.

Related Phrases

• Internal affairs: Matters concerning the internal operations of an organization or the domestic issues of a country.
  • The department handles the company's internal affairs.
• Internal combustion: A process where fuel is burned inside an engine.
  • Most cars use an internal combustion engine.
• Internal revenue: Government income from domestic taxes.
  • He works for the Internal Revenue Service.

Adjective

1. innermost or essential
   • the inner logic of Cubism
   • the internal contradictions of the theory
   • the intimate structure of matter
2. located inward
   • Beethoven's manuscript looks like a bloody record of a tremendous inner battle- Leonard Bernstein
   • she thinks she has no soul, no interior life, but the truth is that she has no access to it- David Denby
   • an internal sense of rightousness- A.R.Gurney,Jr.
3. inside the country
   • the British Home Office has broader responsibilities than the United States Department of the Interior
   • the nation's internal politics
4. occurring within an institution or community
   • intragroup squabbling within the corporation
5. happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface
   • internal organs
   • internal mechanism of a toy
   • internal party maneuvering