inwardness Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. noun the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
   kernel; substance; center; centre; nitty-gritty; essence; sum; meat; heart; pith; nub; heart and soul; core; marrow; gist.
   
   • the gist of the prosecutor's argument
   • the heart and soul of the Republican Party
   • the nub of the story
2. noun preoccupation especially with one's attitudes and ethical or ideological values
   
   • the sensitiveness of James's characters, their seeming inwardness
   • inwardness is what an Englishman quite simply has, painlessly, as a birthright
3. noun the quality or state of being inward or internal
   
   • the inwardness of the body's organs
4. noun preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature (especially ethical or ideological values)
   internality.
   
   • Socrates' inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness"- H.R.Finch

WordNet