introspection
/ɪntɹəˈspɛkʃən/noun
introspection is spelled I-N-T-R-O-S-P-E-C-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, introspection means “A looking inward; specifically, the act or process of self-examination, or inspection of one's own thoughts and feelings; the cognition which the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of introspection is introspections.
How many letters and syllables are in introspection?
| Letters | 13: I-N-T-R-O-S-P-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is introspection?
Introspection appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce introspection?
- /ɪntɹəˈspɛkʃən/
Introspection has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-introspection.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of introspection
- introspections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does introspection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A looking inward; specifically, the act or process of self-examination, or inspection of one's own thoughts and feelings; the cognition which the mind has of its own acts and states.
- 2
Clipping of type introspection.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Introspection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the act or process of self-examination:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | introspection |
| German | Innenschau, Introspektion, Selbstbeobachtung, Selbstprüfung, Selbstwahrnehmung |
| Portuguese | introspecção, introspeção |
| Spanish | introspección |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does introspection come from?
From Latin intrōspectiō, noun of action (with -iō) from past-participle (intrōspectus) stem of intrōspiciō (“to look into, look at, examine, observe attentively”), from intro- (“inward”) + speciō, spiciō (“to look at”). By surface analysis, introspect + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).