self-analysis

noun

self-anal·​y·​sis ˌself-ə-ˈna-lə-səs 

: a systematic attempt by an individual to understand their own personality without the aid of another person

Examples of self-analysis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Do the harder work first, a real self-analysis to find where the breakdown actually happened. — John Speranza, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Whether that includes external self-analysis alongside the expertise Brighton provide remains to be seen. — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Bait, the new Prime Video miniseries Ahmed created, wrote, and stars in, is both an exercise in self-analysis and an interrogation of it, a breakneck romp through farce, satire, thriller, family drama, and romantic walk-and-talk that transforms itself in each of its six episodes. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026

With a mind engaged in varied tasks, the time dedicated to art becomes sharper, less prone to the debilitating self-analysis that can derail artistic momentum. — Kice Akkawi, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025

Lynne Sharon Schwartz’s otherwise smart Rough Strife suffered from the first-person narrator’s self-analysis eclipsing action and drive. — Alex Vernon may 27, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025

Zambra’s essays and stories contain plenty of reflection and self-analysis, but the fundamental purpose of the nonfiction that dominates the book is to show readers his son, his son’s world, and the overlapping but not identical world of fatherhood. — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2024

The sociopolitical implications of his story—desperate poverty, harassment by the police, along with exploitation by the boxing business and its high-handed authorities—are balanced by his earnest self-analyses and the detailing of his home life. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-analysis

• cryptanalysis
• urinalysis
• analysis
• dialysis
• paralysis
• electrodialysis
• haemodialysis
• hemodialysis
• microanalysis
• psychoanalysis

Medical Definition

self-analysis

noun

self-anal·​y·​sis -ə-ˈnal-ə-səs 

plural self-analyses -ˌsēz 

: a systematic attempt by an individual to understand his or her own personality without the aid of another person

self-analytical

-ˌan-ə-ˈlit-i-kəl 

adjective

also self-analytic

-ik