insightful
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- insightfully adverb
- insightfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of insightful
Explanation
What English teachers want from students writing papers is insightful analysis –– thinking that sees beyond the obvious and expresses an original thought. With this word, remember in- and -sight-. When you have the ability to look (sight) inside (in) something––a painting, a discussion, a situation––and find what others aren't seeing, you are being insightful. An insightful person is someone capable of deep, insightful thinking.
Vocabulary lists containing insightful
Positive Words to Describe People, List 1
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Words to Describe a Novel or a Story
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Cover Letter Language
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Determining how much didactic information is insightful and sufficient, and how much constitutes excessive artsplaining, is a delicate, ongoing challenge for museums.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
In his insightful book, “A Place Both Wonderful and Strange,” Scott Meslow narrates the show’s unlikely journey from midseason network replacement to a television landmark that still produces imitators.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
It's like being in a travelling circus and the caddies are a great and insightful group.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
But Coogan and Hays insist they are not journalists, even if they line up interviews with key figures in the industry who offer insightful access to the Silicon Valley world.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
He wondered if anyone else was insightful enough to know why he did what he did.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
