introspective
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- introspectively adverb
- introspectiveness noun
- nonintrospective adjective
- nonintrospectively adverb
- nonintrospectiveness noun
- unintrospective adjective
- unintrospectively adverb
Etymology
Origin of introspective
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin intrōspect(us), past participle of intrōspicere “to look within” + -ive ( def. ); introspection ( def. )
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.
A pulsing exploration of party culture and collective movement, it's a departure from the tender, introspective ballads on her Mercury Prize-winning debut, Collapsed In Sunbeams and its 2023 follow-up, My Soft Machine.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Housel: I hope they become more introspective and more willing to look in the mirror and ask what genuinely works for them, even if it’s totally different from what social media tells them to want.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026
Reflecting that structure, many of the songs are solos, often introspective ballads, with varying, more upbeat collective numbers set mostly at Auggie’s school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 31, 2025
Beyond that, Hopkins prefers to avoid “an introspective analysis.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2025
But I see I am becoming unduly introspective, and in a rather morose sort of way at that.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
