soul-searching
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of soul-searching
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.
The NBC4 helicopter crash has prompted soul-searching in the world of TV news helicopter pilots and focused attention on safety issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
As in Vietnam, larger questions about the impact of war on military readiness accompanied veterans’ soul-searching.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Looking back, he gained a foothold in mainstream politics only because of the humiliating defeat of Kamala Harris, and the soul-searching that followed.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
There was little soul-searching over his international future because Morocco never approached him.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
An electronic river of true pain had sprung up in that period of national soul-searching, far deeper than I’d imagined, and it was wrenching to have so much of it run literally through my fingers.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
