as in introspection
examination of one's own thoughts and feelings
after much soul-searching, they both realized that their marriage was essentially over
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Recent Examples of soul-searching
Moore has some soul-searching to do in the offseason, which has already begun for all intents and purposes.
—
Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2025
There will be a lot of soul-searching, a lot of social posts, a lot of hot takes as to what went wrong with Coach Prime’s third campaign.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 29 Nov. 2025
Trying to replicate Charles’ uniquely moving emotional arc from Season 1 would’ve been a fool’s errand, but Season 2 still feels emptier without comparable soul-searching.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Nov. 2025
The scale of the Republican Party's triumph in 2024—taking the White House, flipping the Senate and maintaining control of the House—has sparked soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong, how to rebuild, and party leadership and direction.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for soul-searching
Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2025
There will be a lot of soul-searching, a lot of social posts, a lot of hot takes as to what went wrong with Coach Prime’s third campaign.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 29 Nov. 2025
Trying to replicate Charles’ uniquely moving emotional arc from Season 1 would’ve been a fool’s errand, but Season 2 still feels emptier without comparable soul-searching.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Nov. 2025
The scale of the Republican Party's triumph in 2024—taking the White House, flipping the Senate and maintaining control of the House—has sparked soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong, how to rebuild, and party leadership and direction.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for soul-searching
Recent Examples of Synonyms for soul-searching
- introspection
- self-examination
- self-reflection
- self-searching
- self-questioning
- self-scrutiny
- contemplation
Noun
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Musk occasionally has moments of introspection in his many court battles.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2026
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In the first three stories, Lilian, as a bereaved mother, goes through life in an altered state, with encounters that increase her sense of introspection.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In an era where analytics and ever-growing coaching staffs allow teams to self-scout every week, the Patriots seem to have taken a more traditional approach and decided on a makeover after a self-examination last month during their bye.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
17 Jan. 2026
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Some time spent in self-examination could yield new insights.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Known for scene-stealing roles in TV shows like My Brother and Me, Sparks, The Parkers and The Boondocks, Whitley draws heavily on family life, Hollywood experiences and unapologetic self-reflection for her stand-up act.—
Travis Pinson,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Others describe chances for self-reliance or self-reflection.—
Rainesford Stauffer,
Time,
25 Feb. 2026
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.—
James Medd,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 July 2025
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But such athletic excess is part of what makes this album admirable, as is a sense of spiritual and intellectual hunger that’ll be quickly recognizable to anyone familiar with the Ziggy Stardust/Zen Arcade/Tommy school of self-searching rock epic.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
2 May 2025
Noun
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With this news came a several-minute period of self-questioning.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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But users can instruct it to be tentative, hesitant, self-questioning or even deliberately clumsy.—
Chris Reed,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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That may be too much heightened self-scrutiny.—
Bryan Price,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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In a foundational study, it was found that companies professing a strong belief in meritocracy were more likely to reward men over equally performing women because the belief in objectivity ironically reduces self-scrutiny in decisions, giving managers subconscious permission to act on stereotypes.—
Heather Price,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Noun
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On the 900 acres, there is a secluded secret chapel that his majesty uses for private contemplation.—
Elle Meier,
InStyle,
3 Mar. 2026
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An episodic framework, physical comedy, a small ensemble of actors who are all at home in their clowns and who will all, at some point, drop the mask to speak to us as themselves — for Ogawa, these are ways to bring effervescence and intimacy to the contemplation of insoluble, heavy things.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Soul-searching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soul-searching. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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