inwardness
Americannoun
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the state of being inward or internal.
the inwardness of the body's organs.
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depth of thought or feeling; concern with one's own affairs and oneself; introspection.
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preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature; spirituality.
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the fundamental or intrinsic character of something; essence.
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inner meaning or significance.
Etymology
Origin of inwardness
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at inward, -ness
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.
Martin Luther’s personal spiritual struggles brought St. Paul’s inwardness to its fullest expression; after Luther, Mr. Persico writes, “God no longer resided in the heavens, but in the human heart.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
The inwardness of McCorkle’s Omar has an overwhelming gravity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2022
It explores the tension between the inwardness of Romantic philosophy and the ethical or political aspirations of its practitioners, nearly all of whom supported the French Revolution.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2022
Even before he was famous, Damon’s impulse as an actor has always been toward a certain inwardness, an emotional mutability he identified in his idols early on.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2021
Their entrenched inwardness, a profoundly interior consciousness, seemed at times woven into their personalities.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
