Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Existing as an essential constituent or characteristic; intrinsic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Inhering; infixed; sticking within; strongly lodged or incorporated.
  • Existing as an element, quality, or attribute; innately characteristic; intrinsic: as, inherent color; inherent beauty of character.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Permanently existing in something; inseparably attached or connected; naturally pertaining to; innate; inalienable

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective naturally a part or consequence of something.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
  • adjective in the nature of something though not readily apparent

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin inhaerēns, inhaerent-, present participle of inhaerēre, to inhere; see inhere.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin inhaerentem, accusative singular of inhaerēns, present active participle of inhaereō ("I am closely connected with; adhere to").

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Examples

  • MADISON: I think Randi Rhodes, on her show, had a great idea, what they call inherent -- I forgot the terminology.

    CNN Transcript Aug 21, 2007 2007

  • Mr de Klerk predicted that even when a new constitution and a government of national unity were in place, conflict in marriages and families would continue because of factors such as rapid urbanisation, imbalances in the labour force and what he described as the inherent economic problem.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 1992

  • Nasreen's outspoken stance on what she calls the inherent misogyny of conservative Muslim society in Bangladesh has sparked protests, riots and warrants for her arrest as well as a cash reward for her decapitation by religious fundamentalists.

    baithak 2009

  • In the first third of a speech that lasted more than 90 minutes, Colonel Qaddafi focused on what he called the inherent unfairness of the United Nations, which gives the five permanent members of the Security Council far more authority than the nations in the General Assembly.

    Waldo's Virginia Political Blogroll 2009

  • Nasreen's outspoken stance on what she calls the inherent misogyny of conservative Muslim society in Bangladesh has sparked protests, riots and warrants for her arrest as well as a cash reward for her decapitation by religious fundamentalists.

    Culture | guardian.co.uk 2009

  • The assumption was that the forces of economic development and the forces of environmental protection were in inherent conflict.

    Steven Cohen: New York Needs to Reinvent and Not Destroy Its Environmental Agency Steven Cohen 2010

  • I feel like politicians, there is a certain inherent, you know, the way I always explain it is, when you go to the zoo and a monkey throws its feces, its a monkey.

    Jon Stewart: The Most Trusted Name In Fake News 2010

  • The assumption was that the forces of economic development and the forces of environmental protection were in inherent conflict.

    Steven Cohen: New York Needs to Reinvent and Not Destroy Its Environmental Agency Steven Cohen 2010

  • The idea that states retain inherent power to enforce or decline to enforce the laws of Canada (except when it is incidental in choice of law situations where jurisdiction arises from an authority other than Canadian law) as sovereign entities strikes me as not only wrong, but absurd.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » The Bybee Immigration Memo 2010

  • PALCA: But like scuba diving, there are certain inherent risks and they want to get you acquainted with those.

    Space Tourism: To Infinity And ... Right Back To Earth 2010

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