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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1 |
I have consulted several dictionaries (including the "Shorter Oxford ....") and have yet to find a clear distinction between "intrinsic" and "inherent". In some cases I think I know what the more appropriate word is but in other instances the choice is not clear. It does not help that most dictionaries (including the SOED) list each as a synonym for the other. Can someone help ?
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
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veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
"Intrinsic" refers to a quality that simply exists within. "Inherent" refers to a quality that has continuity with that which has gone before. What say, jmacq, what's your story? 
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Here's something from MW Vocabulary Builder:
"inherent...
Part of something by nature or habit....
Inherent literally refers to something that 'sticks in' or is 'stuck in' something else. A plan may have an inherent flaw that will cause it to fail; a person may have inherent virtues that will bring him or her love and respect. Something inherent cannot be removed" (170).
MW Collegiate:
"intrinsic: belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing (the ~ worth of a gem); b: being or relating to a semiconductor in which the concentration of charge carriers is characteristic of the material itself instead of the content of any impurities it contains 2: originating or situated within the body or part acted on"
It seems that 'inherent' tends to bend toward values and 'intrinsic' can subsume both values and physical properties.
I haven't checked onelook.com, but if you check there, you'll have dozens of references that may give you more clarification. There are sentences in which I think the two terms can be interchangeable, as you mentioned, but others in which one would be more preferable than the other. If the sentence strongly indicated a clear moral value, I'd use inherent over intrinsic...but maybe not. It really would depend upon the specific sentence, so I'd probably consult several references if uncertain about the choice.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
intrinsically, a cigar is only a cigar; but a good cigar is inherently a smoke.
-sigmund (I've looked at smoke from both sides now) friday
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,385
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,385 |
Considering all of the above, what is inherent can be removed leaving what is intrinsic behind. But take away what is intrinsic, and you have nothing left behind for the inherent to adhere to.
The same thing goes for an adherent. Take away the thing the adherent adheres to, and you disinherent the adherent.
Some adherents are better off as inherents doing their own thing. Then they have only themselves to adhere to - which ends up, paradoxically, making them attractive to adherents.
The world seems to be divided up between inherents and adherents, and they usually end up finding one another. Not so long ago, most of the inherents in our society were men. But that was just a cultural anomaly. Now the split is about equal, half men and half women.
That doesn't mean men and women are any more equal in their relationship as a couple than they ever were. No, not at all. It just means the gender split between inherents and adherents is about equal. Men don't have an inherent advantage any more.
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