soul-searching
/ˈsoʊlˌsəɹtʃɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.23 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Involving probing introspection, or a critical consideration of one's conscience, especially motives and values.
noun
Probing introspection; a critical consideration of one's conscience; also, an instance of such consideration.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
present participle and gerund of soul-search
Example Sentences
- "Fortune had showered upon him gifts unlooked for; had enabled him, had he been blessed with prudence, to keep the path where he could have been free from ostentatious obligation, on the one hand, and soul searching mortification on the other: but, like an improvident spendthrift, he had lavished away in the fever of indiscretion, the gifts she had bestowed with so liberal a hand; […]"
- "His face is fair, rather oval, his eye dark, soft and bashful, glows with a soul-searching kindness; […]"
- "He [Thomas Shepard] was a soul-searching minister of the gospel. By his death, not only the church and people of Cambridge, but also all New England, sustained a very great loss."
- "Very simple but very soul-searching was the preparation, but very peremptory was the command to all never to neglect to share in the divinely-instituted sacrament."
- "Whatever one thinks of [Frederick Campbell] Crews's indictment, the issues he raises represent important challenges to psychoanalysis and should encourage serious, even soulsearching, thought on the part of psychoanalytic adherents."
- "We should pause, even for a moment, to do a soul-searching exercise before participating in Communion."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsoʊlˌsəɹtʃɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈsəʊlsəːtʃɪŋ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more soul-searching (comparative)
most soul-searching (superlative)
soul searching (alternative)
soulsearching (alternative)
soul-searchings (plural)