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insight

[ in-sahyt ]

/ ˈɪnˌsaɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR insight ON THESAURUS.COM

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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.

an understanding of relationships that sheds light on or helps solve a problem.
(in psychotherapy) the recognition of sources of emotional difficulty.
an understanding of the motivational forces behind one's actions, thoughts, or behavior; self-knowledge.

Words nearby insight

inside track, the, insider, insider dealing, insider trading, insidious, insight, insightful, insigne, insignia, insignificance, insignificancy

Origin of insight

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

SYNONYMS FOR insight

2 perception, apprehension, intuition, understanding, grasp.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR insight ON THESAURUS.COM

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH insight

incite insight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for insight

He then provides some insight into his psyche - complete with Animal House reference.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Their intentions may be good, but their execution and insight are lousy.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But fun and insight are not always mutually exclusive, certainly not here.
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2014|William O’Connor|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He said Jacobovici and Wilson were simply the latest in a long line of people hoping to find further Biblical insight.
Is ‘The Lost Gospel’ Book a Fraud?|Nico Hines|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This is absurd, and an insight to how the GOP is likely to win big on Tuesday.
Why You Can’t Tell the Truth About Race|Michael Tomasky|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Isobel looked amazed at this her first insight into native life.
Rujub, the Juggler|G. A. Henty
The following episode gives us an insight into the fervour of soul with which this task was undertaken.
Saint Bonaventure|Rev. Fr. Laurence Costelloe, O.F.M.
She applied an expert's touch and a woman's insight to a hospital hitherto managed exclusively by men.
The Life of Florence Nightingale vol. 1 of 2|Edward Tyas Cook
I listened open-mouthed to these things into which my West-Indian experiences could not have given me an insight.
The Arrow of Gold|Joseph Conrad
To say that I was bewildered by this last evidence of the insight of the woman beside me would be to put it mildly.
The Crossing|Winston Churchill

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

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

Medicine 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.