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insight

[ in-sahyt ]
/ ˈɪnˌsaɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR insight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, especially through intuitive understanding: an insight into 18th-century life.
penetrating mental vision or discernment; faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying truth.
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.

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having or claiming to have the power of seeing objects or actions beyond the range of natural vision.
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Origin of insight

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at in-1, sight

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH insight

incite, insight

Words nearby insight

insider trading, insides, inside straight, inside track, insidious, insight, insightful, insigne, insignia, insignificance, insignificancy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Content related to insight

We Asked: Do You Like The Word “Insight”?I love the word "insight." But, the thing about it, it’s so overused in the corporate world.
READ MORE
We Asked: Do You Like The Word “Insight”?I love the word "insight." But, the thing about it, it’s so overused in the corporate world.
READ MORE

Words related to insight

intuition, observation, understanding, acumen, wisdom, judgment, vision, perception, perspicacity, sapience, sagaciousness, drift, discernment, click, sagacity, comprehension, shrewdness, penetration, divination, perceptivity

Example sentences from the Web for insight

British Dictionary definitions for insight

insight
/ (ˈɪnˌsaɪt) /

noun

the ability to perceive clearly or deeply; penetration
a penetrating and often sudden understanding, as of a complex situation or problem
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
psychiatry the ability to understand one's own problems, sometimes used to distinguish between psychotic and neurotic disorders

Derived forms of insight

insightful, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for insight

insight
[ ĭn′sīt′ ]

n.

Understanding, especially an understanding of the motives and reasons behind one's actions.

Other words from insight

in′sight•ful (ĭn′sīt′fəl, ĭn-sīt′-) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with insight

in sight
1

Within one's range of vision, as in The sailboat was still in sight on the horizon. [c. 1200]

2

Also, in one's sight or sights. Before one's eyes; also, within one's awareness. For example, In the world's sight he was at fault, or Harold had that promotion firmly in his sights. [c. 1200]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.