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
A report last week by Yale University contains a surprising dose of self-examination that dares to agree with what many of its critics have been saying for years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
At once a tribute to the bygone movie palaces of his hometown of Recife, and an introspective self-examination focused on his relationship with film, this evocative documentary is a must-see for all cinephiles.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2024
Within that self-examination resides a broader parable about the belief’s power in fueling hope, that essential ingredient of survival.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2024
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.
