intrinsic

(ĭn-trĭn'zĭk, -sĭk)
adj.

1. Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent.
2. Anatomy. Situated within or belonging solely to the organ or body part on which it acts. Used of certain nerves and muscles.

[Middle English intrinsique, inner, from Old French intrinseque, from Late Latin intrīnsecus, inward, from Latin, inwardly.]

intrinsically in·trin'si·cal·ly adv.

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means 'inherent, essential, belonging naturally' and is the opposite of extrinsic:

The study of portraits on coins is...as much about the political factors that influenced them as about their intrinsic or moral interest—A. Burnett, 1991.

See exterior ². The corresponding adverb is intrinsically.

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adjective

Forming an essential element, as arising from the basic structure of an individual: built-in, congenital, connatural, constitutional, elemental, inborn, inbred, indigenous, indwelling, ingrained, inherent, innate, native, natural. See be, native/foreign, start/end.

IN BRIEF: Inherent, belonging to the essential nature of something.

To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything... — Joan Didion, US journalist, novelist.

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1. of or pertaining to the essential nature of something; inherent.
2. (in morphology) peculiar to, or situated in a part.

—intrinsically adv.

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Situated entirely within, or pertaining exclusively to, a part.

• i. factor — see intrinsic factor.
• i. host determinants — characteristics peculiar to the host that affect the spread and occurrence of a disease.
• i. nerve — some evidence exists for the presence of autonomous nerves, without connection to the CNS, in the adventitia of small arteries and arterioles.
• i. pathway, i. system — see coagulation pathways.
• i. protein — see membrane proteins.

adj

Naturally occurring within; inherent; essential.

For a list of words related to intrinsic, see:

• Order, Hierarchy, and Systems - intrinsic: (adj) essential to nature of system or object

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See words rhyming with "intrinsic."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Intrinsically.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - egentlig, reel, væsentlig, indre, som kommer indefra, iboende

Nederlands (Dutch)
intrinsiek

Français (French)
adj. - intrinsèque

Deutsch (German)
adj. - immanent, inner, wesentlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εσώτερος, εσωτερικός, έμφυτος, συμφυής, εγγενής, ενυπάρχων, ουσιαστικός

Italiano (Italian)
intrinseco

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - intrínseco

Русский (Russian)
подлинный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - intrínseco

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - inre, verklig, reell

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
本身的, 固有的, 本质的, 内在的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 本身的, 固有的, 本質的, 內在的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 본질적인, 내재성의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 本来備わっている, 固有の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) جوهري, حقيقي, طبيعي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מולד, יסודי, פנימי, עצמי, מהותי, סודי‬

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