Meaning

3 senses

  1. (countable, uncountable)The contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation.

    literally, the contemplation of one's navel, which is an idiom usually meaning complacent self-absorption

  2. (countable, derogatory, uncountable)An excessive focus on oneself; self-indulgent introspection.

    Nabelschau

  3. (countable, derogatory, sometimes, uncountable)A (disproportionate) concentration on a single issue.

Translations

3 languages
Deutsch
excessive focus on oneself:

Origin

Calque of Ancient Greek ὀμφαλοσκοπία (omphaloskopía). By surface analysis, navel + gazing.

Calque of Ancient Greek ὀμφαλοσκοπία (omphaloskopía). By surface analysis, navel + gazing.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: navel-gazings

Synonyms

2 synonyms
navel-watchingomphaloskepsis
Close in meaning
  • literally, the contemplation of one's navel, which is an idiom usually meaning complacent self-absorption:omphaloskepsis

Lessons for this word

1 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
navalB2navenavelnavigablenavigateB2navigationB2navigator

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

navel-gazing — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto