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
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
The Democratic soul-searching will continue in the midterm primaries for House and Senate seats, and into the 2028 presidential primary, as the party looks for new leaders who can win.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Maybe existential soul-searching is too much of a luxury for a generation that will likely have to fight harder than any other still living to survive.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Coming off a brutal defeat in the 2024 presidential election and now taking attacks from Republicans over the weekslong government shutdown, the Democratic Party’s soul-searching is very much ongoing.
—Elliott Davis, The Hill, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for soul-searching
Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
The Democratic soul-searching will continue in the midterm primaries for House and Senate seats, and into the 2028 presidential primary, as the party looks for new leaders who can win.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Maybe existential soul-searching is too much of a luxury for a generation that will likely have to fight harder than any other still living to survive.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Coming off a brutal defeat in the 2024 presidential election and now taking attacks from Republicans over the weekslong government shutdown, the Democratic Party’s soul-searching is very much ongoing.
—Elliott Davis, The Hill, 23 Oct. 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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Niazi appears uninterested in asserting her voice on the page, a lack of literary care that seems connected to her tendency—odd in a memoir—to nudge away from introspection.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
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The effect demands a more active degree of introspection than the average documentary, and Marczak’s unwavering commitment to that endurance test approach has a powerful way of messing with viewer expectations.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 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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This is why assessments that encourage self-reflection can be useful — not as diagnoses, but as mirrors.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Some writers with Murphy’s body of work, then, would see a show like The Beauty as an opportunity for self-reflection and self-critique, but this has never been the thing that Ryan Murphy does best.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
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One of many things the culture lost with Lennon’s death was his rare example as a burgeoning and often self-searching male feminist, serving as a role model for men looking to take account of their behavior.—
Jon Pareles,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 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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For your contemplation, consider the following charts.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
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The beginning of the year is often the time for contemplation and action.—
Heather L. Locus,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Soul-searching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soul-searching. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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