inward Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective relating to or existing in the mind or thoughts
    • a concern with inward reflections
  2. adjective satellite directed or moving inward or toward a center
    inbound.
    • the inbound train
    • inward flood of capital
  3. adverb toward the center or interior
    inwards.
    • move the needle further inwards!
  4. adverb to or toward the inside of
    inwards; in.
    • come in
    • smash in the door

WordNet

In"ward adjective
Etymology
AS. inweard, inneweard, innanweard, fr. innan, inne, within (fr. in in; see In) + the suffix -weard, E. -ward.
Definitions
  1. Being or placed within; inner; interior; -- opposed to outward. Milton.
  2. Seated in the mind, heart, spirit, or soul. "Inward beauty." Shak.
  3. Intimate; domestic; private. Obs.
    All my inward friends abhorred me. Job xix. 19.
    He had had occasion, by one very inward with him, to know in part the discourse of his life. Sir P. Sidney.
In"ward noun
Definitions
  1. That which is inward or within; especially, in the plural, the inner parts or organs of the body; the viscera. Jer. Taylor.
    Then sacrificing, laid the inwards and their fat. Milton.
  2. The mental faculties; -- usually pl. Obs.
  3. An intimate or familiar friend or acquaintance. Obs. "I was an inward of his." Shak.
In"ward, In"wards adverb (Also<
  • Inward
  • Inwards
)
Etymology
AS. inweard. The ending -s is prop. a genitive ending. See Inward, a., -wards.
Definitions
  1. Toward the inside; toward the center or interior; as, to bend a thing inward.
  2. Into, or toward, the mind or thoughts; inwardly; as, to turn the attention inward.
    So much the rather, thou Celestial Light, Shine inward. Milton.

Webster 1913