Meaning & use
insightful
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Showing a clear and deep understanding of a person, situation, or problem.
Grammar: Gradable: you can say 'very insightful' or 'more insightful than'.
Patterns
- an insightful comment
- insightful analysis
- insightful into something
Her insightful remarks helped us see the problem in a new way.
The book offers an insightful look at modern family life.
He gave an insightful analysis of the company's financial troubles.
Word forms
| comparative | more insightful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most insightful |
Common combinations
- insightful comment
- She made an insightful comment about the team's strategy.
- insightful analysis
- The report included an insightful analysis of the market.
- highly insightful
- The interview was highly insightful.
- insightful into
- The documentary was insightful into the lives of refugees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- perceptive
- Perceptive emphasizes noticing things quickly, while insightful stresses deep understanding.
- profound
- Profound suggests great depth, often in a serious or philosophical way; insightful is more about practical understanding.
Opposites
Word family
- insight noun
- A clear and deep understanding of something.
- insightfully adverb
- In a way that shows deep understanding.
Commonly confused: insightful or inciteful?
insightful vs inciteful
Inciteful means encouraging violent or unlawful behavior, while insightful means showing deep understanding.
Practice
The professor's ______ lecture made the difficult theory easy to grasp.
Choose one answer.
'Insightful' fits because it describes a lecture that shows deep understanding. 'Inciteful' means encouraging violence, 'insensible' means unable to feel, and 'insensitive' means not caring about others' feelings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “insightful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.