inwardness (n.)

  1. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; the gist of the prosecutors argument; the heart and soul of the Republican Party; the nub of the story

    [ Syn: kernel , substance , core , center , centre , essence , gist , heart , heart and soul , marrow , meat , nub , pith , sum , nitty-gritty ]

  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'

  3. the quality or state of being inward or internal; the inwardness of the body's organs'

  4. preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature (especially ethical or ideological values); Socrates inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness- H.R.Finch

    [ Syn: internality ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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