as in introspection
examination of one's own thoughts and feelings
some self-observation might give you some insights into how others perceive you
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-observation
The purpose of this exercise is not to match your paradigm perfectly but to give you a thematic lens for self-observation.
—
Liz Tran,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
There are three invitations leaders can offer their direct reports:
Play with the technology as a tool for self-observation.
—
Michael Hudson,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Anyone who has tracked their daily steps or worn a glucose monitor can testify that self-observation works.
—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes,
7 Oct. 2024
Liz Tran,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
There are three invitations leaders can offer their direct reports:
Play with the technology as a tool for self-observation.
—
Michael Hudson,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Anyone who has tracked their daily steps or worn a glucose monitor can testify that self-observation works.
—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes,
7 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-observation
- introspection
- self-reflection
- self-examination
- soul-searching
- self-scrutiny
- contemplation
- self-contemplation
- self-questioning
Noun
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That’s why introspection and self-knowledge are at the core of every spiritual and philosophical tradition—the drive not just to know the world but to know ourselves, with each layer of self-knowledge unlocking a deeper one.
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Your desire for solitude and introspection is strong during today’s Scorpio moon.
Noun
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Andy Sachs exemplifies an adaptive optimist, challenging norms and fostering open environments through self-reflection and curiosity.
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That friction is an opportunity for self-reflection.
Noun
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When creating the novel, Akil was inspired by the collective interest in self-examination and the interior self.
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In fact, much of our technology is designed to distract us from, or worse, replace this loop of self-examination and improvement.
Noun
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The group’s musical soul-searching is what gets most attention in the ReLoad box set.
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Carmy vowed to get the restaurant out of debt before savoring some soul-searching and crafting a new recipe for success.
Noun
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That may be too much heightened self-scrutiny.
Noun
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Its challenges require active engagement, not passive contemplation.
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Sterman, after much contemplation, decided to use natives but didn’t develop a detailed plan.
Noun
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After the eclipse wraps, the Sun doubles down on the compulsion toward self-contemplation in partnership with Lilith.
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Missing from the fair but important nonetheless is Hsiao Chin, the first and only post-war Chinese artist to convey Eastern philosophical ideas and the concepts of mindfulness and self-contemplation in the Western pictorial language of abstraction.
Noun
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This majestic sequence delivers a lifetime’s outpouring of love’s inadequacies and frustrations, of grief and regret, of gratitude along with candid acceptance of loss, and of self-questioning that never shakes the foundations of the family—her ferocious commitment to the children.
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After long periods of grief, reflection and painful self-questioning, most of the families interviewed by The Charlotte Observer no longer seem interested in reducing their children’s deaths to any one thing.
Cite this Entry
“Self-observation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-observation. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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