How to Use inward in a Sentence

inward

1 of 3 adjective
  • Trump will pass; the inward turn won’t.
    — Ian Bremmer, Time, 25 June 2026
  • Accept it, with an inward sigh, as part of the deal?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Then there is sports tourism and an inward draw of tourists coming in.
    — Talis Shelbourne, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2021
  • Lowry came home with three birdies on the inward nine to shoot even-par 71.
    — Adam Schupak, USA TODAY, 22 Aug. 2022
  • Young is more inward, stoic, but ready to get a good dig in when it’s called for.
    — Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 15 Jan. 2026
  • The silhouette stood out with a sharp toe and a block heel with an inward slant.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Tuck these inward and press flat on the inside of the mask so this new pleat creates a flat seal.
    — Corey Gaskin, Ars Technica, 18 Dec. 2021
  • So what’s better for both parties, short-term defeat that forces an inward look?
    — Chuck Todd, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Even without the head, the figure conveyed for me a sense of inward gazing.
    — The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2022
  • Frogs and toads seem to blink when eating because their eyes are pulled inward briefly, helping push food down their throats.
    — Washington Post, 4 May 2021
  • The black pair wrapped close to the foot, cut with a smooth vamp and soft inward curve that gave the silhouette its sculptural feel.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The thigh bone, or the femur, is rounded on its edge to fit inside the inward curve, or socket, of the pelvis.
    — Perri O. Blumberg, Men's Health, 14 Dec. 2022
  • In the fall, welcome an inward focus as the days get chillier and darker.
    — David G. Allan, CNN, 19 June 2021
  • Please confirm or deny that either of you can perform inward singing on demand.
    — Jonathan Cohen, Variety, 27 Sep. 2021
  • The key to her win came on her next-to-last dive, an inward 1½ somersault from the pike position.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 May 2023
  • Tesla could make use of the inward facing camera present in newer models.
    — Brad Templeton, Forbes, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Yet for Franzen, if not for his characters, an inward focus is the ticket out.
    — Becca Rothfeld, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2021
  • The product is easy to sanitize, thanks to an inward sloping splash guard and wipe-clean surface.
    — Kate Bayless, Parents, 5 June 2023
  • Inherent in success is an outward focus, not an inward one.
    — Melinda Fouts, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026
  • More of a walker than a climber, Shepherd preferred the inward path to the ascendant path.
    — Connor Goodwin, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2020
  • Additionally, the rim should have a slight inward tilt, so the water drains into the basin and doesn't pool up.
    — Allen Foster, chicagotribune.com, 22 Sep. 2020
  • In the fall, enjoy the riot for the senses and welcome an inward focus as the days get chillier.
    — David G. Allan, CNN, 21 Dec. 2021
  • The fall of his hand and the slight inward turn of his feet broadcast vulnerability and melancholy.
    — Vogue, 29 Mar. 2019
  • Disease, illness and pain are horrible facts of life but the path of inward fixation is slippery.
    — Eleanor Morgan, refinery29.com, 12 Apr. 2023
  • The demand for mail was the outward expression of my son’s inward imitation of me.
    — Amy Joyce, Washington Post, 13 June 2019
  • Disease, illness, and pain are horrible facts of life but the path of inward fixation is slippery.
    — Eleanor Morgan, refinery29.com, 12 Nov. 2021
  • The shock wave must also fight against the inward spiral of the star’s outermost layers, which are still falling onto the core.
    — Quanta Magazine, 21 Jan. 2021
  • Rendered in earthy materials and with slightly inward slanting walls, the store feels part living room, part womb.
    — Steff Yotka, Vogue, 7 Nov. 2020
  • October begins a season of inward focus and self-care for you that is worth paying attention to.
    — Kirah Tabourn, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2022
  • The textures and the smells and the tastes outside us actually change our inward sensations and our inner lives.
    — Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2023

inward

2 of 3 adverb
  • The window faces inward toward the courtyard.
  • He turned his attention inward.
  • The hunger turns each man inward.
    — Eli Sharabi, Time, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Those teams looked inward and built.
    — Sam Blum, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Use the palms of your hands to squeeze the clay inward.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
  • My icing then ran inward to form a gooey sticky pool.
    — Kathryn Streeter, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
  • My icing then ran inward to form a gooey sticky pool.
    — Kathryn Streeter, Southern Living, 29 May 2026
  • That is why most are pointing agents inward for now.
    — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
  • Start from the tips of the branches and work your way inward.
    — Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 7 Aug. 2023
  • Some would have been hurled inward, toward the sun.
    — Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • This second piece turns the lens inward.
    — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • But that anger sometimes turns you inward.
    — J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Garage doors were bowed inward, and trash and debris lined the streets.
    — Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
  • Their feet may point down and inward, and two of their middle toes are webbed.
    — Erika Edwards, NBC News, 5 Dec. 2023
  • That process often turns inward first.
    — Christina Pérez, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2026
  • This reflection led her to look inward at her own life.
    — Monica Coviello, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026
  • Roll the tarp inward to trap the debris and take it outdoors.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Tuck the open end inward to prevent dust from getting in.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Place our flow shorts folded in half on top of the tank, fold the sides inward and roll away!
    — Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Moments like these turned my mind inward and outward at the same time.
    — Cara Blue Adams, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Look inward and adjust your lifestyle and goals to suit your needs.
    — Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2024
  • At the top of the curl, rotate wrists inward so palms face forward.
    — Women's Health, 7 June 2023
  • Knives must be placed closest to the plate with the blade facing inward.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
  • But the calendar has turned, and the spears now point inward.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Thin out and trim any limbs that are growing inward toward the main tree.
    — Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 10 Jan. 2026
  • But later in the day, your focus turns inward.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
  • But the offices that will thrive in the years ahead are those willing to turn inward.
    — Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Smooth out the sheet and allow the corners and edges to curl inward on all sides.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Guest suites turn inward, toward the pool and gardens.
    — Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
  • And how much of his misanthropy is inward and how much is outward?
    — Dan Snierson, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2023

inward

3 of 3 noun
  • So think about this notion turned inwards.
    — Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
  • The final third of the month brings an inward but grounding shift.
    — Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Use a clean sponge or cloth to gently wipe and dab the stain away from the outer edges inwards.
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Use a clean sponge or cloth to gently wipe and dab the stain away from the outer edges inwards.
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 19 Jan. 2026
  • When your windows are open at night, place a fan nearby to help disperse that air inwards.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 18 May 2026
  • Too much direct sunlight can burn this plant’s leaves and also cause the leaves to curl inwards.
    — Cori Sears, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
  • To maintain movement and bounce, her ends are cut bluntly and bumped inwards with a flat-iron.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
  • The Fame silhouette features a narrow squared toe and a curved heel with a slight inward slant.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Pull your wax petal off the spoon and press gently into the center, so the edges curl inwards like a real flower petal.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Also, most emergency exit doors on planes open inwards.
    — Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2025
  • She’d been married before, and after her late husband passed, her focus shifted inwards.
    — Essence, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Pronation control features had a small protective effect in most runners, but a large one in those whose feet tended to roll inwards.
    — Outside, 30 Dec. 2025
  • To maintain a smooth yet voluminous finish, blow-dry bangs inwards using a round brush and set with just a lightweight hairspray.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Jupiter and Saturn, especially, began migrating inwards and then out again.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 19 June 2026
  • Businesses often retreat inwards during these times, focusing on strategies like cost-cutting and hoarding cash.
    — Harvard Business Review, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Without appearing to look, Rogers flicked the ball round the corner, straight into the path of Madueke running in behind, cutting inwards from the right.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Both craters feature prominent central peaks formed from rock that rebounded inwards following the violent impact that heralded their creation.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 20 May 2026
  • What likely happened, the team explains, is that the planet spiraled inwards towards the star, became orbitally unstable, and was eventually absorbed.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 June 2026
  • The riflebird’s plumage owes its deep, velvety black coloration not just to pigment, but also to its microscopic structure, which involves tightly packed barbules that deflect light inwards, absorbing nearly all of it.
    — Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
  • There’s a prevalent trend in contemporary documentary filmmaking where directors are looking inwards towards their own lives and experiences.
    — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 20 Mar. 2026
  • And inside this clump of matter, gravitation pulls things inwards, but the heat of the moving particles provides an outward pressure (which is a force over an area), gas pressure, that works to counteract the effects of gravitation.
    — Big Think, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Moretus, like Tycho, is recognizable by its prominent central peak, which rose as the crater floor rebounded inwards in the wake of the devastating asteroid strike that heralded its creation.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2026
  • As the world’s best women’s team by some distance this decade, FC Barcelona Femini will go through a phase of reconstruction by looking inwards at its La Masia academy.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Most organizations chose not to measure biases in the employee journey, because measuring it would obligate them to do something, and doing something is expensive and uncomfortable and tends to involve looking inwards at the risk of legal action.
    — Aparna Rae, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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