Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The ability to discern the true nature of a situation, especially by intuition.
  • noun A perception produced by this ability.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Perception; observation.
  • noun Mental vision; intellectual discernment or penetration.
  • noun The immediate cognition of an object; intuition.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; -- frequently used with into.
  • noun Power of acute observation and deduction; penetration; discernment; perception.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; frequently used with into.
  • noun Power of acute observation and deduction; penetration; discernment; perception.
  • noun marketing Knowledge (usually derived from consumer understanding) that a company applies in order to make a product or brand perform better and be more appealing to customers
  • noun The act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively
  • noun artificial intelligence An extended understanding of a subject resulting from identification of relationships and behaviors within a model, context, or scenario.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation
  • noun a feeling of understanding
  • noun grasping the inner nature of things intuitively
  • noun clear or deep perception of a situation
  • adjective at or within a reasonable distance for seeing

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English insight, insiht ("insight, mental vision, intelligence, understanding"), from in- (from Old English) + sight, siht ("sight, vision"), or from Old English insiht ("narrative, argument, account"). Compare Dutch inzicht ("insight, awareness, view, opinion"), German Einsicht ("insight, knowledge, perception, understanding"). More at in, sight.

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Examples

  • This insight is the basis of lease-an-ear, a thriving service branch.

    Oskar Pastior : Ange Mlinko : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation 2007

  • GREAT to hear from you, Liz (so to speak -- grin), and your insight is a welcome addition.

    DISABILITY 101: SOME GUIDELINES Maggie Jochild 2007

  • Your insight is about a long as your attention span when dealing with world wide beneficial long term solutions that might take years if not decades to realize.

    Think Progress » Lynne Cheney ‘Marshals Support’ For Iraq War at Elementary School 2005

  • This insight is then applied to three prominent proposals.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Virtual Crime, Virtual Deterrence: 2004

  • This incompatible trinity has become self-evident for academic economists; today, this insight is also shared by the majority of participants in the practical debate.

    The Prize in Economics 1999 - Press Release 1999

  • An even more recent analysis by London 1986 has made a similar distinction between what he calls the insight and the action modes of psychotherapy.

    Planned Short-Term Treatment RICHARD A. WELLS 1994

  • The word "insight" is literally to "see into," and this means being able to get behind the surface distinctions to the deep patterns that "bring things together" until "everything falls into place."

    Forbes.com: News August Turak 2011

  • For almost a century scientists have used puzzles to study what they call insight thinking, the leaps of understanding that seem to come out of the blue, without the incremental drudgery of analysis.

    NYT > Home Page By BENEDICT CAREY 2010

  • For almost a century scientists have used puzzles to study what they call insight thinking, the leaps of understanding that seem to come out of the blue, without the incremental drudgery of analysis.

    NYT > Home Page By BENEDICT CAREY 2010

  • For almost a century scientists have used puzzles to study what they call insight thinking, the leaps of understanding that seem to come out of the blue, without the incremental drudgery of analysis.

    NYT > Home Page By BENEDICT CAREY 2010

Comments

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  • During my second month of college, our professor

    Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student

    And had breezed through the questions until I read

    The last one:

    "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

    Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the

    Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,

    Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

    I handed in my paper, leaving the last question

    Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if

    The last question would count toward our quiz grade.

    "Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,

    You will meet many people. All are significant. They

    Deserve your attention and care, even if all you do

    Is smile and say "hello."

    I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her

    Name was Dorothy.

    Sorry if I've offended anyone.

    July 2, 2009

  • Source please.

    July 2, 2009

  • A monistic oath prevents me from providing this information. Although you may remember 'a road less traveled' or 'leave no good deed undone'.

    In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a

    Roadway.. Then he hid himself and watched to see if

    Anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by

    And simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the

    King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did

    Anything about getting the stone out of the way.

    Then a peasant came along carrying a load of

    Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the

    peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the

    stone to the side of the road. After much pushing

    and straining, he finally succeeded. After the

    peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed

    a purse lying in the road where the boulder had

    been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note

    from the King indicating that the gold was for the

    person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The

    peasant learned what many of us never understand!

    Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve

    our condition.

    July 2, 2009