3 definitions
for inwardness
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Inwardness \In"ward*ness\, n.
1. Internal or true state; essential nature; as, the
inwardness of conduct.
[1913 Webster]
Sense can not arrive to the inwardness
Of things. --Dr. H. More.
[1913 Webster]
2. Intimacy; familiarity. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Heartiness; earnestness.
[1913 Webster]
What was wanted was more inwardness, more feeling.
--M. Arnold.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
inwardness
n 1: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some
idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's
argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party";
"the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core,
center, 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"; "Socrates'
inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness" [ant: outwardness]
3: the quality or state of being inward or internal; "the
inwardness of the body's organs" [ant: outwardness]
4: preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature
(especially ethical or ideological values); "Socrates'
inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness"- H.R.Finch
[ant: outwardness]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
21 Moby Thesaurus words for "inwardness":
depth, essentiality, experience, familiarity, fundamentality,
immanence, inbeing, indigenousness, indwelling, inherence,
innateness, innerness, inness, interiority, internality,
internalization, intimacy, intrinsicality, introversion,
nonobjectivity, subjectivity