Meanings
comparative more introspective · superlative most introspective
- Examining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences; contemplative or thoughtful about oneself.
All of a sudden Syme, who was standing as if blind with introspective thought, swung round and cried out, like a man waking from sleep—
1908, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Bristol: J[ames] W[illiams] Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, →OCLC, page 264
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivegiven to examining own sensory and perceptual experiences
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinspecere
- Latinintro
- Englishintrospective
From Latin intro "inward, within" (see intro-) + Latin specere "look at".
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan introspectiu
- introspectiuexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Czech introspektivní
- introspektivníexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Finnish introspektiivinen, itseään havainnoiva
- introspektiivinenexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
- itseään havainnoivaexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
French introspectif
- introspectifexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
German introspektiv, selbstbeobachtend
- introspektivexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
- selbstbeobachtendexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Hungarian introspektív
- introspektívexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Portuguese introspectivo
- introspectivoexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Romanian introspectiv
- introspectivexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Spanish introspectivo
- introspectivoexamining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with introspective
Cite this entry
introspective. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspective
“introspective.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspective. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “introspective,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/introspective.
Source: introspective on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.