navel-gazing

noun

navel-gaz·​ing ˈnā-vəl-ˈgā-ziŋ How to pronounce navel-gazing (audio)
: useless or excessive self-contemplation

Examples of navel-gazing in a Sentence

a singer-songwriter whose compositions are too often exercises in self-important navel-gazing
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Cavs are not, to borrow a phrase from former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, navel-gazing. Joe Vardon, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025 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 The results of this year’s elections could result in a prolonged period of French and German navel-gazing. Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 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 If the idea of a deep dive into the pop-culture Zeitgeist of Obama’s presidency feels like an exhausting amount of navel-gazing, well, nothing could be more true to the spirit of the time. Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 Aug. 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 As for the airport tray aesthetic, while people might be getting het up at the idea of Gen Z holding up the line for some navel-gazing, the US Transport Security Administration is sanguine about the risk. Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 8 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of navel-gazing was in 1922

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Cite this Entry

“Navel-gazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/navel-gazing. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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