insight

See also: in sight

English

Etymology

From Middle English insight, insiht (“insight, mental vision, intelligence, understanding”), equivalent to in- +‎ sight. Perhaps continuing Old English insiht (“narrative, argument, account”), from Proto-Germanic *insahtiz (“account, narrative, argument”). Compare West Frisian ynsjoch (“insight”), Dutch inzicht (“insight, awareness, view, opinion”), German Low German Insicht (“insight”), German Einsicht (“insight, knowledge, perception, understanding”), Danish indsigt (“insight”), Swedish insikt (“insight”), Icelandic innsýn (“insight”).

Pronunciation

audio (US) (file)
enPR: ĭn'sīt, IPA^(key): /ˈɪnsaɪt/

Noun

insight (countable and uncountable, plural insights)

A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; frequently used with into.
- 1980, Carl Sagan, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage:
  The history of our study of our solar system shows us clearly that accepted and conventional ideas are often wrong, and that fundamental insights can arise from the most unexpected sources.
- 2014 January 1, Claire Kramsch, “Language and Culture”, in AILA Review‎, volume 27, number 5, John Benjamins, DOI:10.1075/aila.27.02kra, ISSN 1461-0213, page 30:
  This paper surveys the research methods and approaches used in the multidisciplinary field of applied language studies or language education over the last fourty^[sic] years. Drawing on insights gained in psycho- and sociolinguistics, educational linguistics and linguistic anthropology with regard to language and culture, it is organized around five major questions that concern language educators.
Power of acute observation and deduction
Synonyms: penetration, discernment, perception
(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
Intuitive apprehension of the inner nature of a thing or things; intuition.
(artificial intelligence) An extended understanding of a subject resulting from identification of relationships and behaviors within a model, context, or scenario.
(psychiatry) An individual's awareness of the nature and severity of one's mental illness.

Related terms

outsight

Translations

sight of the interior; deep view; introspections

Bulgarian: проникновение (bg) n (proniknovenie)
Català: percepció (ca), introspecció (ca), penetració (ca)
Esperanto: enrigardo
French: introspection (fr) f
German: Einblick (de) m
Greek: διορατικότητα (el) f (dioratikótita), ενόραση (el) f (enórasi)
Hebrew: תובנה‎ (he) f (tovanah)
Italian: introspezione (it), approfondimento (it)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: innsyn n, innblikk n
Nynorsk: innsyn n or f, innblikk n
Occitan: introspeccion f
Portuguese: introspecção (pt) m
Russian: интроспе́кция (ru) f (introspékcija), инса́йт (ru) m (insájt)
Spanish: introspección (es) f
Tocharian B: pilko

power of acute observation and deduction

Bulgarian: проницателност (bg) f (pronicatelnost)
Català: perspicàcia, discerniment, agudesa (ca)
Dutch: inzicht (nl) n
French: perspicacité (fr) f, aperçu (fr) m, pénétration (fr) f, discernement (fr) m
Georgian: წვდომა (c̣vdoma)
German: Einsicht (de) f
Greek: οξυδέρκεια (el) f (oxydérkeia), οξύνοια (el) f (oxýnoia)
Italian: introspezione (it), acume (it), intuito (it), discernimento (it), perspicacia (it) f, intuizione (it), lungimiranza (it)
Latin: perspicientia
Maori: mōhiotanga
Portuguese: dedução (pt) f
Russian: проница́тельность (ru) f (pronicátelʹnostʹ), инса́йт (ru) m (insájt)
Spanish: perspicacia (es) f, agudeza (es) f, deducción (es) f
Tocharian B: pilko

knowledge that a company applies to make a product or brand perform better

German: Gespür (de) n, Kundenverständnis n
Italian: conoscenza (it) f, idea (it) f
Russian: инса́йт (ru) m (insájt)

intuitive apprehension of the inner nature of things

Bulgarian: интуиция (bg) f (intuicija)
Català: intuïció (ca)
Esperanto: enrigardo, intuicio
Finnish: oivaltaminen (fi)
French: intuition (fr) f
Georgian: ინტუიცია (inṭuicia), გააზრება (gaazreba)
German: Ahnung (de) f, Eingebung (de) f, Gespür (de) n, Einfühlungsvermögen (de) n, Intuition (de) f
Greek: διαίσθηση (el) f (diaísthisi)
Italian: intuizione (it)
Maori: māramatanga, mōhiotanga
Occitan: intuicion (oc) f, sentida f
Portuguese: intuição (pt) m
Russian: интуи́ция (ru) f (intuícija)
Slovak: vhľad m
Spanish: introspección (es) f

extended understanding of a subject in artificial intelligence

German: Verstehen n

(med.) awareness of one's own illness

Finnish: sairaudentunto (fi)
German: Einsicht (de) f, Krankheitseinsicht f, Krankheitsverständnis n

Anagrams

Tignish, histing, shiting, sight in, sithing