inwardness

[in-werd-nis]

noun

1. the state of being inward or internal.

   the inwardness of the body's organs.

2. depth of thought or feeling; concern with one's own affairs and oneself; introspection.

3. preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature; spirituality.

4. the fundamental or intrinsic character of something; essence.

5. inner meaning or significance.

6. intimacy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of inwardness¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; inward, -ness

Example Sentences

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.”

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Misunderstood and racially tormented in Catholic school, he found refuge in inwardness.

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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.

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It explores the tension between the inwardness of Romantic philosophy and the ethical or political aspirations of its practitioners, nearly all of whom supported the French Revolution.

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The DeCarava images introduce sections of the show in which the definition of “Black melancholia” expands in several directions, all encompassing various modes of subjectivity, inwardness.

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