Extrospect

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Directing one's attention outward toward the external world instead of inward toward one's own thoughts and feelings
2. Looking outward at surrounding objects and events rather than turning inward to examine oneself
3. The act of observing the outside world, as opposed to introspecting on one's own inner mental states

Etymology: "Extrospect" is a modern formation, built from the prefix "extro-", meaning outward, and "-spect", from Latin "specere", to look. Its meaning is the reverse of "introspect", to examine one's own thoughts and feelings, so to extrospect is to look outward at the external world rather than inward at oneself. The word's history is a little muddled, because the source treats it as a blend rather than a clean construction. It may have been formed directly from "extro-" and "-spect", following the pattern of words like "retrospect" and "prospect", or it may have arisen as a blend of "extro-" and "introspect", with the new prefix swapped in for the "in-" of its partner. Either way, the word is a deliberate pairing with "introspect" that takes the familiar inward-looking sense and turns it outward.

Antonyms: introspect