insight

American  

[in-sahyt] / ˈɪnˌsaɪt /

noun

• insights
  plural

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.

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insight British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• insightful
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• insights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of insight

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

Explanation

When you have an insight, you have a feeling or emotion or thought that helps you to know something essential about a person or thing. Insight isn't based on hard facts or evidence. And it doesn't have anything to do with using your senses such as sight or smell. When you gain insight, you are using your intuition, or sixth sense. Insight is formed from the prefix in- plus the English word sight, so this word literally means seeing inward.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insight insights

It’s protecting against bad behavior, and when we throw the baby of insight out with the bathwater of gossip, we are leaving a lot of information on the table.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Find insight on crude futures, Amplitude Energy, SK Innovation and more in the latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Find insight on the Chinese EV market and more in the latest Market Talks covering the auto and transport sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Find insight on Canada’s airports, Ford, Michelin and more in the latest Market Talks covering Auto and Transport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

But introspection gives us far more insight into the ways of other humans than into those of dinosaurs.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

You’re welcome for these insights; it is recommended to implement immediately!

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

“The EV price premium over ICE+ has narrowed significantly,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox’s director of industry insights, said during a webinar, referring to gas-powered cars.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

Capitalizing on the growing trend for health tracking, users can get personalized insights and guidance through various subscription options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

"Even the slightest insights from an out-of-equilibrium physics model will guide us in the future."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

And the essay on geometry considered the revolutionary insights stemming from that day in bed on the banks of the Danube.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

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