insight

American  

[in-sahyt] / ˈɪnˌsaɪt /

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.

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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

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

The discovery, published in Nature Communications, helps explain a previously unsolved neurological disorder and offers new insight into how certain neurodegenerative diseases develop.

From Science Daily • Jun. 13, 2026

Find insight on Wizz Air, Volvo, Thailand’s aviation sector and more in the latest Market Talks covering Auto and Transport.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

A New York Times report in 2022 gave the public more insight into Moonbug’s audience development process, which included testing “CoComelon” videos on young children to make its shows as attention-grabbing as possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

You'll have full control to see all the angles as the perfect second-screen option that offers deeper insight.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

I had sudden insight that maybe Dad and I could talk politics, even if no other subject worked for us.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

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