navel-gazing

[ ney-vuhl-gey-zing ]

/ ˈneɪ vəlˌgeɪ zɪŋ /

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noun Slang.

excessive absorption in self-analysis or focus on a single issue.

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Origin of navel-gazing

First recorded in 1955–60; navel + gaz(e) + -ing¹; perhaps from Hours With the Mystics (1856) by Robert Alfred Vaughan, English Congregationalist minister and author (1823–57), “...if a man shut himself up… turning his thoughts inward, gazing towards his navel..., he would at length behold a divine glory….”

Words nearby navel-gazing

navarin, Navarino, Navarre, nave, navel, navel-gazing, navel ill, navel orange, navelwort, navette, navew

How to use navel-gazing in a sentence

But whereas we used to be satisfied gazing on that perfection as it stood up on a pedestal, now we want it down among us.
Bow Down, Bitches: How Beyoncé Turned an Elevator Brawl Into a Perfect Year|Kevin Fallon|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Such large sheets are common in Kobani, meant to protect fighters and civilians from the ever gazing eyes of ISIS snipers.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Johnson kept doing all he could, gazing down at those eyes that gazed right back at him with a seemingly stunned look.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Me neither,” Lohse says, gazing pityingly at his own navel.
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance|Stefan Beck|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Or gazing towards the Bible stories, saints and martyrs depicted in the arched stained glass windows.
Inside New York’s Scandal-Hit Seminary and Other ‘Open House’ Treats|Lizzie Crocker|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Alcalde was kneeling by his side, gazing sadly and earnestly into the face of the dying man.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He was holding his big head high in the air, like a giraffe, and gazing proudly about him as he ran.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
Bernard folded his hands together—almost devoutly—and stood gazing at her with a long, inarticulate murmur of satisfaction.
Confidence|Henry James
Yet when I stop gazing the next impulse is to move on; for if I have time to rest anywhere, why not at home?
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
"I believe that is what they call it," Gordon answered, gazing back at her with his densely clouded blue eyes.
Confidence|Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for navel-gazing

navel-gazing

noun

informal self-absorbed behaviour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012