as in selfness
excessive interest in oneself
a singer-songwriter whose compositions are too often exercises in self-important navel-gazing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of navel-gazing
Equal to Tesfaye’s navel-gazing, Shults uses every trick in the music-video playbook to conjure a vivid, ultra-saturated but not quite realistic universe where the Weeknd is a brightly burning sun everyone revolves around.
—
Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 15 May 2025
Van Nistelrooy’s first three games brought a defeat, a victory and a draw; his fourth, on December 14, was a visit to Newcastle, who were navel-gazing after a damaging 4-2 defeat at Brentford.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The Cavs are not, to borrow a phrase from former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, navel-gazing.
—Joe Vardon, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
That deserves far more digital ink to be spilled than the usual navel-gazing about how iPhones are boring.
—Steven Aquino, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for navel-gazing
Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 15 May 2025
Van Nistelrooy’s first three games brought a defeat, a victory and a draw; his fourth, on December 14, was a visit to Newcastle, who were navel-gazing after a damaging 4-2 defeat at Brentford.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The Cavs are not, to borrow a phrase from former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, navel-gazing.
—Joe Vardon, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
That deserves far more digital ink to be spilled than the usual navel-gazing about how iPhones are boring.
—Steven Aquino, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for navel-gazing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for navel-gazing
Noun
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Shooting the final sequence from Cassie’s point of view was a last-minute adjustment, which Levinson made the day of filming to emphasize Cassie’s narcissism and selfishness.—
Zoe Papelis,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
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The doctor further explained that the traits of a narcissist encompass low empathy, arrogance, entitlement, grandiosity and pathological selfishness.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Over the vanity hung a neon sign in curlicue magenta script.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Here there are a dual sink vanity, a roomy shower, and a soaking tub.—
James Alexander,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
The narcissism charge was especially baffling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Shooting the final sequence from Cassie’s point of view was a last-minute adjustment, which Levinson made the day of filming to emphasize Cassie’s narcissism and selfishness.—
Zoe Papelis,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But that order is built on ego, not psychology.—
Daren Smith,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
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In a rollicking monologue, Fry described all opera as comedy, tragedy merely being the result of idiotic egos incapable of levity.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Hard mode: in the endless cycle of desire, self-absorption, and suffering, seek ways to live with kindness and compassion.—
Charles Yu,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The depth of her ambition was hard to reach, as was her self-absorption.—
Sara Wheeler,
Big Think,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, visibility motivation is not limited to self-involvement.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Feb. 2026
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Wettig noted in an August 2009 interview with NPR that though Thirtysomething's characters were often accused of being narcissistic by critics, their self-involvement was also reflective of the time.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Navel-gazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/navel-gazing. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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