as in introspection
examination of one's own thoughts and feelings
not one for self-scrutiny, the president was known for never looking back or second-guessing himself
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-scrutiny
- introspection
- self-examination
- soul-searching
- self-reflection
- self-observation
- self-questioning
- contemplation
- self-searching
Noun
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Your desire for solitude and introspection is strong during today’s Scorpio moon.
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His own family tree was a source of introspection.
Noun
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His early, anonymous SoundCloud drops were hushed and hesitant, a shroud of tape hiss and white noise between himself and true self-examination.
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Macy’s was notorious in its industry for how siloed its teams and culture were, characteristics that impeded prior turnaround efforts until Spring, CEO since 2024, instilled a culture of self-examination and an ability to admit mistakes before quickly moving on.
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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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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The purpose of this exercise is not to match your paradigm perfectly but to give you a thematic lens for self-observation.
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There are three invitations leaders can offer their direct reports: Play with the technology as a tool for self-observation.
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.
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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While there’s still some of the angst and self-searching of Girls, Too Much is classic odd-couple romcom.
Cite this Entry
“Self-scrutiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-scrutiny. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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