INHERENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does inherent mean? 

• INHERENT (adjective)
  The adjective INHERENT has 2 senses:

1. existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

2. in the nature of something though not readily apparent

  Familiarity information: INHERENT used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INHERENT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

Synonyms:

built-in; constitutional; inbuilt; inherent; integral

Context example:

a constitutional inability to tell the truth

Similar:

intrinsic; intrinsical (belonging to a thing by its very nature)

Derivation:

inhere (be inherent in something)

inherence (the state of inhering; the state of being a fixed characteristic)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In the nature of something though not readily apparent

Synonyms:

implicit in; inherent; underlying

Context example:

an underlying meaning

Similar:

implicit; inexplicit (implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something)

Derivation:

inhere (be inherent in something)

 Context examples 

Issue associated with an inherent device and/or device component characteristic that is not satisfactory as specified or delivered.

(Medical Device or Device Component Quality Issue, Food and Drug Administration)

A solid, semi-solid, solution or suspension exhibiting an altered inherent rate of release of active and/or inert ingredient(s).

(Modified Release Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

A scale that uses only categories, with no inherent order.

(Nominal Scale, NCI Thesaurus)

GTP hydrolysis by the inherent GTPase reverts the alpha subunit to its inactive (heterotrimeric) form.

(Heterotrimeric G Protein Subunit Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

The inherent characteristic of a molecule or substance to be soluble in water.

(Hydrophilicity, NCI Thesaurus)

Taken together, the findings suggest that human assessment of face color is an essential operation that is inherent in the human visual system.

(Rosy health and sickly green: color associations play robust role in reading faces, National Institutes of Health)

Like other GTPases, the inherent GTPase activity of Ran is regulated by GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) and by exchange factors.

(Mitotic Spindle Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Given the inherent challenges in trying to observe these far-flung worlds, astronomers often need to combine data from a variety of sources in order to tease out basic details about their properties.

(2007 OR10: Largest Unnamed World in the Solar System, NASA)

Studies of this type incorporate the strengths of both cohort and case-control studies but eliminates a portion of the methodologic challenges inherent in both types of studies.

(Nested Case-control Study, NCI Thesaurus)

"We knew there were inherent biases in these systems around race and ethnicity and we suspected there would also be problems around gender," said senior author Jed Brubaker.

(Facial recognition software has a gender problem, National Science Foundation)