Meanings
plural introspections
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesA looking inward; specifically, the act or process of self-examination, or inspection of one's own thoughts and feelings; the cognition which the mind has of its own acts and states.
1 more example
If Adam Wheeler gave it some thought, or if someone were to prompt him with the right questions, he could put words around the fact that his existence doesn't bring him any satisfaction. He would discover, on introspection, that he's nowhere close, actually, to "happy", and that there is something vast and significant missing from his life. But he doesn't give it any thought. There's a void between him and those questions.
2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 133Synonyms: self-consciousness, reflection · Antonyms: extraspection
- abbreviationclippingcountableuncountableobject-oriented programmingClipping of type introspection.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA looking inward; specifically, the act or process of self-examination, or inspection of one's own thoughts and feelings; the cognition which the mind has of its own acts and states.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe contemplation of your own thoughts and desires and conduct
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinintrōspectiō
- Englishintrospection
From Latin intrōspectiō, noun of action (with -iō) from past-participle (intrōspectus) stem of intrōspiciō (“to look into, look at, examine, observe attentively”), from intro- (“inward”) + speciō, spiciō (“to look at”). By surface analysis, introspect + -ion.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian самонаблюдение
- самонаблюдение (samonabljudenie)the act or process of self-examination
Catalan introspecció
- introspeccióthe act or process of self-examination
Chinese Mandarin 內省 /内省, 內觀 /内观
- 內省 /内省 (nèixǐng)the act or process of self-examination
- 內觀 /内观 (nèiguān)the act or process of self-examination
Czech introspekce
- introspekcethe act or process of self-examination
Dutch introspectie, zelfonderzoek
- introspectiethe act or process of self-examination
- zelfonderzoekthe act or process of self-examination
- zelfreflectiethe act or process of self-examination
Esperanto introspekto
- introspektothe act or process of self-examination
Finnish itsetutkiskelu, introspektio
- itsetutkiskeluthe act or process of self-examination
- introspektiothe act or process of self-examination
French introspection
- introspectionthe act or process of self-examination
German Innenschau, Introspektion
- Innenschauthe act or process of self-examination
- Introspektionthe act or process of self-examination
- Selbstbeobachtungthe act or process of self-examination
- Selbstprüfungthe act or process of self-examination
- Selbstwahrnehmungthe act or process of self-examination
Greek ενδοσκόπηση
- ενδοσκόπηση (endoskópisi)the act or process of self-examination
Hindi आत्मनिरीक्षण, आत्मविश्लेषण
- आत्मनिरीक्षण (ātmanirīkṣaṇ)the act or process of self-examination
- आत्मविश्लेषण (ātmaviśleṣaṇ)the act or process of self-examination
Indonesian wawas diri, introspeksi
- wawas dirithe act or process of self-examination
- introspeksithe act or process of self-examination
- refleksi dirithe act or process of self-examination
Japanese 内観
- 内観 (naikan)the act or process of self-examination
Lithuanian savistaba
- savistabathe act or process of self-examination
Polish autoanaliza, samoanaliza
- autoanalizathe act or process of self-examination
- samoanalizathe act or process of self-examination
- introspekcjathe act or process of self-examination
Portuguese introspecção, introspeção
- introspecçãothe act or process of self-examination
- introspeçãothe act or process of self-examination
Russian самоана́лиз, самонаблюде́ние
- самоана́лиз (samoanáliz)the act or process of self-examination
- самонаблюде́ние (samonabljudénije)the act or process of self-examination
- интроспе́кция (introspékcija)the act or process of self-examination
Spanish introspección
- introspecciónthe act or process of self-examination
Swedish introspektion, själviakttagelse
- introspektionthe act or process of self-examination
- själviakttagelsethe act or process of self-examination
Tagalog pagsisiyasat
- pagsisiyasatthe act or process of self-examination
Turkish iç gözlem, içe bakış
- iç gözlemthe act or process of self-examination
- içe bakışthe act or process of self-examination
- introspeksiyonthe act or process of self-examination
Ukrainian інтроспе́кція
- інтроспе́кція (introspékcija)the act or process of self-examination
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with introspection
Cite this entry
introspection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspection
“introspection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspection. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “introspection,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspection.
Source: introspection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.