soul-searching

[ sohl-sur-ching ]
See synonyms for soul-searching on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or process of close and penetrating analysis of oneself, to determine one's true motives and sentiments.

Origin of soul-searching

1
First recorded in 1605–15

Words Nearby soul-searching

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use soul-searching in a sentence

  • It sounded like the voice of a soul searching for something it could never find.

    Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
  • On the wind was coming the ghost of a smell, faint and horrible and soul-searching.

    The Beach of Dreams | H. De Vere Stacpoole
  • For a single moment longer she stood, her soul searching his through her wonderful eyes.

    Corporal Cameron | Ralph Connor
  • The only questions asked were soul-searching ones put to herself.

    The Foolish Virgin | Thomas Dixon
  • The proof to which God put Abraham is the most soul-searching proof that ever comes into human lives.

    Living for the Best | James G. K. McClure

British Dictionary definitions for soul-searching

soul-searching

noun
  1. deep or critical examination of one's motives, actions, beliefs, etc

adjective
  1. displaying the characteristics of deep or painful self-analysis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012