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I'm looking for an adjective that describes an object that, rather than is just the outside, is instead just the inside.

Searching for antonyms of hollow, I have only found the word solid, which suggests both the inside and outside of an object.

I really need a way to describe something as being just the inside of something.

I can only think of words like core or heart to describe what I'm looking for, but those are nouns.

When a tree has only its exterior, the tree is hollow. It is a hollow tree.

When a tree has only its interior, the tree is _____. It is a _____ tree.

Perhaps tree was a bad example, it was the only object I could think of at the time that made sense to be a hollow object. Any object where that description could apply is a reasonable substitute, it does not have to be specifically about a tree.

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  • Is it a mathematically graphical/topological tree or an actual biological tree?
    – Blessed Geek
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:10
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    The difficulty I'm having is no real-world tree can exist that is without an exterior, or bark? Can you give another example?
    – user98990
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:16
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    Any core still has an outside. A core without an outside is a geometrical point, i.e. a purely theoretical concept devoid of any body.
    – RegDwigнt
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:18
  • interiority noun: the quality of being interior or inward. • inner character or nature; subjectivity.
    – user98990
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:21
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    What we see, we perceive to be the exterior. If you peel a couple of layers off an onion, what you've got is some onion peels and the rest of the, wait for it, onion.
    – Tushar Raj
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:27

6 Answers 6

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I nominate skeleton.

The supporting framework, basic structure, or essential part of something:

the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building (No exterior)

the skeleton of a report (No exterior)

[From Oxford]

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In the case of a tree, I might use the term denuded.

denuded adj
without the natural or usual covering;

TFD

By the way, this is not really an antonym of hollow, because what you're looking for is not really an antonym, per se. It's more like a mirrored state, or a complementary state. The antonym of hollow would be filled or full or any of several others. The state you describe is something else again.

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You can say that you have the core or heart of something.

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Exfoliated

  1. To remove (a layer of bark or skin, for example) in flakes or scales; peel.
  2. To cast off in scales, flakes, or splinters.

...if the exterior has been removed by some process.

FreeDictionary

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    What does this have to do with not being hollow?
    – Drew
    Commented Jul 19, 2015 at 22:34
  • Nothing, but it seems that 'not hollow' isn't exactly what OP is looking for.
    – user129828
    Commented Jul 20, 2015 at 12:17
  • Clever approach, user! But it doesn't conjure the image in my mind.
    – ScotM
    Commented Jul 20, 2015 at 20:49
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I guess the word you are looking for is marrow. However, I don't know if it suits the example you gave. I'd rather say naked or bare.

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  • Could you add a definition of that as a adjective, or an example? It's along the lines of what I'm looking for in terms of the innards of a bone, but on searching I can only find descriptions of the vegetable.
    – Mike.C.Ford
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 11:48
  • The problem is that "marrow" is not an adjective, it’s a noun. It means the inmost or essential part. "bone marrow" also means the soft fatty vascular tissue in the cavities of bones: a major site of blood cell production. Example: Pierce to the marrow of a problem. I guess "marrowy" is the adjective form of it, but I don't know if it still has the same meaning.
    – Mazen Draou
    Commented May 8, 2015 at 13:52
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I'd probably go with skinned, the past participle of "to skin", which is defined by oxforddictionaries.com as to "remove the skin from (an animal or a fruit or vegetable)". Similar words might be "stripped", or, less pleasantly, "flayed".

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