introspective

• intro "inward, within" (see intro-) + specere "look at" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe")

• (UK, US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntɹəˈspɛktɪv/

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• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntɹəˈspektɪv/
• Rhymes: -ɛktɪv

introspective (comparative more introspective, superlative most introspective)

1. Examining one's own perceptions and sensory experiences; contemplative or thoughtful about oneself.
   • 1908, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Bristol: J[ames] W[illiams] Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, →OCLC, page 264:

     All of a sudden Syme, who was standing as if blind with introspective thought, swung round and cried out, like a man waking from sleep—

• introspective sort

• “introspective”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “introspective”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.tʁɔs.pɛk.tiv/
• Homophone: introspectives

introspective

1. feminine singular of introspectif