Word.ws English Dictionary

in-

in- prefix: in, into, towards, within.

Prefix (1)

in-

  1. in, into, towards, within.
    • inhold, inmove, intake, inthrill
    • inborn, inbound
    1. Inward (direction)
      • inbeat
      • inbend
    2. Within (position)
      • inbreed
      • inburning

Prefix (2)

in-

  1. in, into
    • il- before l, e.g. illusion
      im- before b, m, or p, e.g. imperil
      ir- before r, e.g. irrigateNote: Before certain letters, in- becomes
    1. Into
      • imband
      • imbar
    2. Doing; forming verbs.
      • inblind
      • incloister
    3. Having, possessing
      • imbannered
      • inaureole

Prefix (3)

in-

  1. (idiomatic) Used with certain words to reverse their meaning.
    • ig- before n, e.g. ignoble
      il- before l, e.g. illegal
      im- before b, m, or p, e.g. improper
      ir- before r, e.g. irresistibleNote: Before certain letters, in- becomes
    1. (idiomatic) Added to adjectives to mean not.
      • inedible
      • inaccurate
    2. (idiomatic) Added to nouns to mean lacking or without.
      • incredulity
      • ineptitude
    3. (idiomatic) Cannot, unable.
      • inannihilable
      • inappellable

in- meaning in Persian

in- in Persian

in, into, towards
درون darun-

Synonyms of in-

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

Forms of in-

alternative formi-
alternative formil-
alternative formen-

Origin of in-

PIE word *h₁én From Middle English in-, from Old English in- (“in, into”, prefix), from Proto-Germanic *in, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én. More at in.

From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of Latinate origin) from Latin in-, from Latin in, from Proto-Indo-European *en (cognate to Germanic in-, above). Often borrowed from French in- (e.g. incise, incite, incline, indication), or as French en-, originally from Latin in.

PIE word *né From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of latinate origin) from Latin in- (“not”). Sometimes the Latin word has passed through French before reaching English (e.g. incapable, incertainty, inclement, incompatible). Doublet of un-.

Words formed from in-

Questions about in-

What does in- mean?
In- means in, into, towards, within.
What is in- in Persian?
In- in Persian is درون (darun-). See In- meaning in Persian.
What part of speech is in-?
In- is a prefix.

Words near in- in the dictionary

  1. in your face
  2. in your wildest dreams
  3. In'guraidhoo
  4. in's
  5. in't
  6. in-
  7. in-a-box
  8. in-and-in
  9. in-and-out trading
  10. in-app
  11. in-band

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in- (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-in-.wav.

Cite this entry: “in-.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in-. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.