as in selfness
excessive interest in oneself
a singer-songwriter whose compositions are too often exercises in self-important navel-gazing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of navel-gazing
Beyond the lifeboat of major film festivals, which still assist a handful of buzzy international and independent films in their treacherous journey to release, such entities as the self-congratulatory, navel-gazing Oscars have seemingly abandoned the inclusion of riskier, daring films.
—
Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
Ortberg urged staff to focus on beating its French planemaker competitor Airbus instead of navel-gazing at its own issues.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024
In the end, this leads to a novel that might be Murakami’s most navel-gazing work, and one that has the unmistakable feel of a coda.
—Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
That deserves far more digital ink to be spilled than the usual navel-gazing about how iPhones are boring.
—Steven Aquino, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for navel-gazing
Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
Ortberg urged staff to focus on beating its French planemaker competitor Airbus instead of navel-gazing at its own issues.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024
In the end, this leads to a novel that might be Murakami’s most navel-gazing work, and one that has the unmistakable feel of a coda.
—Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
That deserves far more digital ink to be spilled than the usual navel-gazing about how iPhones are boring.
—Steven Aquino, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for navel-gazing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for navel-gazing
Noun
-
Jokic plays below the rim, accents the margins, makes the right play, everything that runs contrary to the selfishness rewarded in this exhibition.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
16 Feb. 2026
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While lambasting Menendez Abdala for her selfishness, Freire also blasted her family members — and her former cop boyfriend — who helped her flee to Mexico.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
If there’s not enough space in your vanity to keep the counter clear, a storage cabinet is a great way to keep daily items accessible.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
15 Feb. 2026
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So, roughly $300 billion – a 7% gap – separates these three countries from California on this vanity scoreboard.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The narcissism is built into the very structure of the question.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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My problem with gambling started years later, deeply rooted in ego and narcissism.—
Craig Carton,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Trump’s ego can take only so much criticism.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
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Time draws these kids osmotically through a membrane, turning them into things like us, adults captured by the brittle carapaces of our egos.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For centuries, the story functioned as a moral warning against vanity and self-absorption.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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But self-awareness doesn’t obviate self-absorption.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Wettig noted in an August 2009 interview with NPR that though Thirtysomething's characters were often accused of being narcissistic by critics, their self-involvement was also reflective of the time.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Sep. 2025
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In terms that viewers of the original series might understand, Esmeralda falls somewhere between the tyranny of Michael Scott, the absurdity of Dwight Schrute, and the self-involvement of Kelly Kapoor with a particular charisma that only Impacciatore could pull off.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Navel-gazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/navel-gazing. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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