Meaning & use
introspect
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Meanings
verbintransitiveformal
To examine your own thoughts, feelings, and reasons carefully and honestly.
Grammar: No object; you introspect, or introspect about/on something. More formal than 'reflect'.
Patterns
- introspect about something
- introspect on something
- introspect for a while
After the argument, she took time to introspect about what went wrong.
He tends to introspect on long walks, sorting out his feelings.
Therapists encourage clients to introspect rather than blame others.
verbintransitivetechnical
To look inward at your own mental state, especially in psychology or philosophy.
Grammar: Used in academic writing about the mind; often in the phrase 'the ability to introspect'.
Patterns
- the ability to introspect
- introspect on one's motives
Philosophers ask whether we can accurately introspect on our own beliefs.
The study measured how often participants introspect during decision-making.
Some animals may not be able to introspect in the way humans do.
Word forms
| third person singular | introspects |
|---|---|
| past tense | introspected |
| past participle | introspected |
| present participle | introspecting |
Common combinations
- introspect about something
- She began to introspect about her career choices.
- introspect on something
- He introspected on his reasons for leaving the job.
- time to introspect
- The retreat gave him time to introspect without distractions.
- deeply introspect
- After the loss, she deeply introspected on what mattered most.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reflect
- More common and less formal; you can reflect on anything, but introspect specifically means looking at your own mind.
- self-examine
- Very close in meaning but often used in psychology and self-help; introspect is more formal and technical.
- look inward
- A phrasal expression that is more literary and emotional; introspect sounds more clinical.
Opposites
Word family
- introspection noun
- The act of examining your own thoughts and feelings.
- introspective adjective
- Tending to examine your own thoughts and feelings.
- introspectively adverb
- In a way that involves examining your own thoughts.
Commonly confused: introspect or introspection? introspect or retrospect?
introspect vs introspection
The noun form; 'introspect' is the verb. You introspect, but you have introspection.
introspect vs retrospect
Means looking back at past events, not examining your inner self. 'In retrospect' is a common phrase.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'introspect' correctly.
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'introspect' as an intransitive verb followed by 'about', meaning to examine one's own thoughts. Option 1 uses 'introspect' with a direct object ('the book'), but the verb does not take an object. Option 2 uses 'introspect' with 'to', which is not a pattern for this verb. Option 3 again uses a direct object, which is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “introspect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.