internal and interval differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. internal means “happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface”. interval means “a definite length of time marked off by two instants”. internal is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˌɪnˈtɝnəl/
1.adj.happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface
“internal organs”
2.adj.occurring within an institution or community
“intragroup squabbling within the corporation”
3.adj.inside the country
“the British Home Office has broader responsibilities than the United States Department of the Interior”
/ˈɪntɚvəl/
1.n.a definite length of time marked off by two instants
2.n.a set containing all points (or all real numbers) between two given endpoints
3.n.the distance between things
“fragile items require separation and cushioning”
| internal | interval | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˌɪnˈtɝnəl/ | /ˈɪntɚvəl/ |
| Said | in-TUR-nuhl | IN-tur-vuhl |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| Letters | 8 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | adjective | noun |
| Senses | 5 | 4 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | time interval |
Full entry for internal · Full entry for interval · More comparisons