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self-knowledge

American  
[self-nol-ij, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈnɒl ɪdʒ, ˈsɛlf- /

noun

  1. knowledge or understanding of oneself, one's character, abilities, motives, etc.


self-knowledge British  

noun

  1. knowledge of one's own character, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of self-knowledge

First recorded in 1605–15

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.

See Examples For:

The kind of courage and self-knowledge that it must have taken to sort of go backwards.

From Salon Jul. 5, 2026

Glatzer: I don’t think anybody that I spoke with in Silicon Valley or in that world — very few of them had that honesty in terms of self-knowledge.

From Los Angeles Times May 21, 2026

Stylishness was certainly important to Mr. Stern, and he had enough self-knowledge to laugh about it.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 28, 2025

“Maybe,” she reasons with a weary sigh, arriving at some self-knowledge, “I’m just kinda like this.”

From New York Times Dec. 6, 2023

And in spite of this self-knowledge I equipped Rocinante with enough writing material to take care of ten volumes.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

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