inwardness
Americannoun
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the state of being inward or internal.
the inwardness of the body's organs.
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depth of thought or feeling; concern with one's own affairs and oneself; introspection.
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preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature; spirituality.
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the fundamental or intrinsic character of something; essence.
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inner meaning or significance.
Etymology
Origin of inwardness
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at inward, -ness
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.
Martin Luther’s personal spiritual struggles brought St. Paul’s inwardness to its fullest expression; after Luther, Mr. Persico writes, “God no longer resided in the heavens, but in the human heart.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Herman Melville in particular — one of the “great explorers of inwardness, mystery and the inexplicable” — became a companion spirit, traveling some of the same paths as Iyer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
The dynamism Rooster embodies — particularly compared to the inwardness of the film characters you’ve been playing lately — was that hard to conjure up again?
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2022
The book liberated and celebrated the experience of inwardness amid the American obsession with outward “likability” and charismatic confidence.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022
Their entrenched inwardness, a profoundly interior consciousness, seemed at times woven into their personalities.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
