immanent.

Existing or acting within a thing or system rather than beyond it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• immanent critique
• immanent principle

On the page

The essay develops an immanent critique of the institution.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Normally non-gradable; no ordinary comparative or superlative. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, qualification. Commonness: uncommon.