soul-searching
Syllables: soul·search·ingUK/ˈsəʊlsəːtʃɪŋ/US/ˈsoʊlˌsəɹtʃɪŋ/
soul-searching adjective: involving probing introspection, or a critical consideration of one's conscience, especially motives and values. Also the present participle and gerund of soul-search.
Adjective
soul-searching (comparative more soul-searching, superlative most soul-searching)
- Involving probing introspection, or a critical consideration of one's conscience, especially motives and values.
- 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...1794, Henry Fielding, “Mr. Henry Fielding”, in The Mock Doctor; or, The Dumb Lady Cured. A Ballad Farce, in Two Acts, Written by Mr. Henry Fielding. As Performed at the Theatres-Royal, Covent-Garden...
- His face is fair, rather oval, his eye dark, soft and bashful, glows with a soul-searching kindness; […]1831, Anne [Newport] Royall, “Camden”, in Mrs. Royall's Southern Tour, or Second Series of the Black Book. … In Three or More Volumes, volume II, Washington: [s.n.], →OCLC, pages 44–45
Noun
soul-searching (countable and uncountable, plural soul-searchings)
- Probing introspection; a critical consideration of one's conscience; also, an instance of such consideration.
- After much soul-searching I decided to confess.
- You’d better do some serious soul-searching before you decide to leave her.
Also used as
soul-searching is also the present participle and gerund of soul-search.
Examples of soul-searching in a sentence
- He [Thomas Shepard] was a soul-searching minister of the gospel.1853, Thomas Shepard, John A[dams] Albro, “Life of Thomas Shepard. [Chapter XII.]”, in The Works of Thomas Shepard, First Pastor of the...
- 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.1885, Canon Spence [Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones], The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles: A Translation with Notes; and Excursus (I. to...
- We should pause, even for a moment, to do a soul-searching exercise before participating in Communion.2008, Mindy Caliguire, “Experience Four: Responding to Grace”, in Soul Searching, Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, →ISBN, page 99:
- The rate of soul-searching articles multiplied after a number of well-established figures lost their jobs in this century's first decade.2016 January, Cecilia Sayad, “A Matter of (Informed) Taste”, in Film Criticism, volume 40, number 1, →DOI:
Forms of soul-searching
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more soul-searching |
| superlative | most soul-searching |
| alternative form | soul searching |
| alternative form | soulsearching |
| Noun | |
| plural | soul-searchings |
Origin of soul-searching
From soul + searching; the noun is derived from the adjective.
Questions about soul-searching
- What does soul-searching mean?
- Soul-searching means involving probing introspection, or a critical consideration of one's conscience, especially motives and values.
- How do you use soul-searching in a sentence?
- He [Thomas Shepard] was a soul-searching minister of the gospel.
- What part of speech is soul-searching?
- Soul-searching can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce soul-searching?
- Soul-searching is pronounced /ˈsəʊlsəːtʃɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near soul-searching in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: soul-searching (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-soul-searching.ogg.
Cite this entry: “soul-searching.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/soul-searching. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.