Introspection

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɪntɹəˈspɛkʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and mental processes
2. The practice of self-examination entails exploring personal thoughts, feelings, and cognitive processes to gain deeper insights into oneself
3. The process involves the careful reflection on and analysis of one's own emotions, thoughts, and mental activities

Etymology: Latin "intrōspicere" meant "to look into," and its literal sense was physical: to peer inward, as into a container or a space. The Romans built it from "intro-," meaning "inward," and "specere," "to look at," the same root behind words like "spectacle" and "inspect." Latin then formed a noun, "intrōspectiō," for the act of looking inward, and that noun gave English its word. English took the term from Latin, and the idea of turning the gaze onto one's own mind came later. The word's core sense, examining one's own thoughts and feelings, is the mental extension of that original spatial meaning. Thoughts are treated as an interior space the mind can look into.

Synonyms: self-examination, self-reflection, self-analysis, contemplation, meditation

Antonyms: extrospection, outwardness