insight

[in-sahyt]

noun

1. an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, especially through intuitive understanding.

   an insight into 18th-century life.

2. penetrating mental vision or discernment; faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying truth.

   Synonyms: grasp, understanding, intuition, apprehension, perception

3. Psychology.

   1. an understanding of relationships that sheds light on or helps solve a problem.

   2. (in psychotherapy) the recognition of sources of emotional difficulty.

   3. an understanding of the motivational forces behind one's actions, thoughts, or behavior; self-knowledge.

insight

/ ˈɪnˌsaɪt /

noun

1. the ability to perceive clearly or deeply; penetration

2. a penetrating and often sudden understanding, as of a complex situation or problem

3. psychol

   1. the capacity for understanding one's own or another's mental processes

   2. the immediate understanding of the significance of an event or action

4. psychiatry the ability to understand one's own problems, sometimes used to distinguish between psychotic and neurotic disorders

Other Word Forms

• insightful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of insight¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; in- ¹ ( def. ) + sight ( def. )

Example Sentences

As well as surgical errors, she was found to have had poor insight into her own levels of competence, partly through being inexperienced, and that she had failed to seek help from more senior colleagues.

From BBC

Jane Goodall, the trailblazing naturalist whose intimate observations of chimpanzees in the African wild produced powerful insights that transformed basic conceptions of humankind, has died.

From Los Angeles Times

They are, of course, far from alone, but as one of the producers of the film told me, many veterans are reluctant to discuss their feelings and insights publicly.

From Salon

The siege and fighting make it very difficult to get reliable information, but the BBC has worked with freelance journalists inside el-Fasher to get an insight into life for those trapped there.

From BBC

"There was a whole range of different dogfighters in there, all collaborating, chatting, sharing videos. It gave us a real insight to the global perspective of dogfighting."

From BBC

Related Words

• acumen 
• intuition 
• judgment 
• observation 
• understanding 
• vision 
• wisdom