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Inter vs Intra? When and When Not to Use Each in a Sentence?

Inter vs Intra? When and When Not to Use Each in a Sentence?

A prefix and suffix attach to existing words, creating new terms in the process. The English language has more than just a handful of prefixes contributing to its lexicon, which include “anti-“, auto-“, “extra-“, “hyper-“, “co-“, “de-“, “inter-“, “intra-“, and “intro-“. This article will, however, focus only on a couple of them – “inter” and “intra”.

“Inter-” and “intra-” sound similar but do not mean the same thing. “Inter-” means “between” and “intra-” denotes “within”. Use “inter-” when referring to things that take place between states, entities, people, etc. “Intra-” must be used to denote things happening within an organization, person, etc. 

Like most other prefixes, both “inter-” and “intra-” can alter various individual words’ meanings. Read on to learn about them in much more detail.

inter prefix on dictionary

“Inter” – Definition

The prefix “inter-” denotes “between two entities”. The word “inter” alone, however, means “burying a dead body”. The synonyms for the standalone term include “entomb”, “bury”, “inhume”, “put away”, etc. Its antonyms are “exhume”, “disinter”, and “unearth”.

“Intra” – Definition

“Intra-” means “inside or within something”. The prefix is usually considered as the antonym of “inter-“. Other antonyms of “intra-” are “extra-” and “exo-“, meaning “outer”. “Intra-” can also mean “during”, as in “intraday”.

Using the Word “Inter” in Texts

As mentioned above, “inter” functions as a verb when used individually. For example:

  • Some religions mandate bodies to be interred and not cremated.

Despite being a separate word by itself, “inter-” is mostly used in texts as a prefix. Some of the words that incorporate “inter-” include:

  • Interstate
  • International
  • Interorganizational
  • Interpretation
  • Intermediate
  • Interrogation
  • Interpretative
  • Intervertebral
  • Interrelation
  • Interstation
  • Interglacial
  • Interborough
  • Intermolecular, etc.

The list goes on.

Here are some sentences incorporating a few of the terms mentioned above:

  • The interstate highway connects the two states.
  • The club signed three international players for the upcoming season.
  • Microstructures and intermolecular forces have little influence on a shell’s overall shape.

“Inter-” is also party to multiple science-based terms. “Interspecies”, for instance, is a particularly common term that means “between various species”.

Compared to “intra-“, “inter-” has a significantly more comprehensive range of applications. Besides academic and scientific writings, the prefix is more likely to be used in casual talks as well than “intra-“.

Not to mention, “inter-” (and “intra-” to a great extent) has become an integral part of so many English terms that most writers do not notice the prefix at all. This also has quite a bit to do with the non-use of hyphens in words incorporating the prefix.

Using the Word “Intra” in Texts

Perhaps the two most common words that employ “intra-” are “intranet” and “intrastate”. The term “intranet” refers to a computer network that only connects individuals within a particular group – for instance, employees at a firm. The term “intrastate highway” denotes a road network connecting multiple cities within a single state.

Using “Intra-” in Science and Medicine

Besides the aforementioned, “intra-” is used in scientific and medical texts too. Like “interspecies”, “intra-” has its version of the term, called “intraspecies”, which means “happening or arising within a species”.

“Intravenous”, which means “existing or happening within veins or a vein”, is an adjective commonly used within medical and health circles. “Intramuscular” is another medical term, which means “within a single muscle”.

“Intracellular” (inside cells); “intradermal” (between layers of the dermis); and “intraperitoneal” (an injection administered into a person’s abdominal cavity) are some other medical terms using “intra-“.

intra preffix on dictionary

“Intra”- Doesn’t Always Counter “Inter”-

Not all words containing “intra-” are in response to the “inter-” equivalents of the terms. For instance, the word “intramural” has no “inter-” variant, or there is no such word as “intermural”. “Intramural” means “functioning within an institution or community’s walls”.

  • The intramural brawl made it clear that the members were not capable of providing good governance.

“Intramural” sporting events are held in school/college. These aren’t competitions between different schools or universities but contests between groups belonging to the same school.

The word’s antonym is “extramural”, meaning “functioning outside the walls”. Though the term “intermural” may feature in some online dictionaries, it essentially is the misspelling of “intramural”.

Similarly, “intrabiontic“, which means “occurring or existing within an individual”, has no “inter-” equivalent too.

“Inter” and “Intra”: To Hyphenate or Not to Hyphenate?

Both “inter-” and “intra-” usually are not hyphenated when attached to a word. As a result, terms such as “Internet”, “international”, “intranet”, etc. read like a proper, single word and not as two words put together. Other non-hyphenated terms include:

  • Interstellar
  • Intracity
  • Intergalactic
  • Intraparty
  • Intracranial

The few terms that do have hyphens are typically proper nouns, like “Inter-America” or “Inter-American”.

Example words with “intra-” include “intra-arterial” and “intra-articular”. “Intra-arterial” means occurring or situated within an artery or administered into an artery”. “Intra-articular” means the same thing as “intra-arterial” except that it denotes the joint and not artery.

If the word attaching to “inter-” or “intra-” is an actual name and there is no hyphen in the word, the noun will invariably be capitalized – for example, “InterEurope”. But then there are exceptions to this rule, or both the hyphen and capitalization could be missing from the word, as in “Intereuropean”.

A particular word starting with “inter-” or “intra-” could at times comprise of or not consist of a hyphen and still be a valid word either way – for example, “inter-textual” and “intertextual”. However, your spell checker may not be that flexible and could insist on adding a hyphen to the term or removing the sign if there’s one already.

If you’re sure the word is acceptable with or without the hyphen and you prefer going the non-hyphen route, ignore your spell check’s prompts. Online spell checking tools are not always right, or they could, at times, fail to recognize the context in which the word is being used.

You may know better, and it’s okay to nix the spell checker’s recommendation and go with your intuition or what you feel is correct.

Distinguishing Between “Inter” and “Intra”

Remembering the meanings of the two terms should not be that difficult. But if you are still having a tough time ascertaining things, this mnemonic trick may help.

The Internet is an “open” system, connecting people from various parts of the world. The term “inter-” has the letter “e” in it, and so does “open”. Make a note of the same to remember the meaning of “inter-“. If you’re still not sure that “inter-” stands for between and not “intra-“, remember both “inter-” and “between” share the letter “e”.

The word “intranet”, on the other hand, means a “contained” network. Both “intra” and “contained” have the letter “a” in their spellings. Use that connection to remember the word’s definition.

Another trick to remember the meaning of the word also has to do with the letter “a”.

“Intra-“, as mentioned above, denotes “things happening within a single thing or place”. The letter “a” is also an article that is used with only singular nouns. Link the two if that helps with memorizing the word’s meaning.

Example Sentences with the Word “Inter”

Since the word “inter” features in writings more as a prefix and less as an individual word, most of the example sentences below have the prefix version of the word instead of the actual term itself:

  • The Internet connects content and people from across the globe.
  • America has a robust interstate highway system.
  • The two teams recently played against each other in the Inter-America Championships League.
  • Flying internationally is easier and quicker than ever before.
  • Parents must have meaningful interactions with their kids regularly to keep the familial bond going.
  • During the corpse’s internment, people usually pray or stand in silence.
  • Compared to books and TV, video games are a lot more interactive.
  • When interring a body, ensure the pit is six feet deep at the least.
  • The man won the Nobel Prize for his work on inter-temporal macroeconomic policy tradeoffs.
  • The foreign sailors were herded to an interclub.
  • Inter Milan is a professional football club team based in Milan, Italy.

looking up from inside between buildings

Example Sentences with the Term “Intra”

Unlike “inter-“, “intra-” is not a standalone term. As a result, it features in writings only as conjoined with another term. The following are some example sentences for your reference:

  • The governor stayed out of the intramural battle.
  • The doctors administered him an intravenous drip so that the medicine enters his veins directly.
  • We have an intranet at the office, which helps us access company newsletters, place lunch orders, and more.
  • Such a scenario typically arises when intrastate activities are criminalized.
  • The nurse gave him an intra-articular injection.

Conclusion

The prefixes “inter-” and “intra-” may seem tricky because they are related. However, once you get a better grasp of the two prefixes’ meanings, you learn how using them interchangeably could change a word’s definition and subsequently the sentence it’s used in.

For example, “Internet” and “intranet” sound and read quite similar. Their meanings are related too but not the same. Using “Internet” in place of “intranet”, or vice versa can completely alter a given sentence.

And there are hundreds of other words that employ the two prefixes. Therefore, remember their meanings and use them in your texts accordingly.