self-examination
Americannoun
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examination into one's own state, conduct, motives, etc.
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Medicine/Medical. examination of one's body for signs of illness or disease.
breast self-examination.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-examination
First recorded in 1640–50
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.
“There’s so much more self-examination — and so much more self-indictment,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Also gut never does a full audit—you need your brain for that, for reflection and self-examination on how or where you went wrong, to help you next time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
His version of self-examination had a way of prying open everyone from comedians to President Barack Obama in 2015, making his podcast the first to interview a sitting president.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2025
Still, it might be helpful to know that once Georgiou crossed over to the Prime Universe with Michael Burnham and the Discovery crew, her arc became one of self-examination and, eventually, a chance at redemption.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025
She thought that he would now cease his self-examination, since it had led him to a conclusion damaging to himself, but healing too, if he saw a fault and repented of it.
From The Honour of the Clintons by Marshall, Archibald
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.
