inwardness meaning and definition

INWARDNESS noun

Definition of inwardness (noun)

1. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
   • "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"
   • synonyms: center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, substance, sum
2. preoccupation especially with one's attitudes and ethical or ideological values
   • "the sensitiveness of James's characters, their seeming inwardness"; "inwardness is what an Englishman quite simply has, painlessly, as a birthright"
   • antonym: outwardness
3. the quality or state of being inward or internal
   • "the inwardness of the body's organs"
   • antonym: externality
4. preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature (especially ethical or ideological values)
   • "Socrates' inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness"- H.R.Finch
   • synonyms: internality
   • antonym: outwardness