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.
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
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
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
The fore-thrown shadow of the coming thought of self-examination awakens within them a vague instinctive dread; and they shudder, turn away, and by every effort avoid it.
From Know the Truth; A critique of the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jones, Jesse H.
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.
