self-examination
Americannoun
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examination into one's own state, conduct, motives, etc.
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Medicine/Medical. examination of one's body for signs of illness or disease.
breast self-examination.
noun
Other Word Forms
- self-examining adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-examination
First recorded in 1640–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Indeed, her book is replete with their habit of self-examination, an unflattering comparison with today’s legacy press.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
Ultimately, to point fingers at others is to evade self-examination about how we got here as a nation.
From Salon • Nov. 13, 2024
Hearing about a death from breast cancer at age 33 led Chelsea -- then 28 -- to conduct her own self-examination, where she discovered a lump.
From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2024
They pointed to his capacity for unflinching self-examination.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2024
I might easily add to them; but I trust I have said enough, at the beginning of this volume, to stir up self-inquiry and self-examination in many minds.
From Practical Religion Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing Christians by Ryle, John Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
