insight

When you have an insight, you have a feeling or emotion or thought that helps you to know something essential about a person or thing.

Insight isn't based on hard facts or evidence. And it doesn't have anything to do with using your senses such as sight or smell. When you gain insight, you are using your intuition, or sixth sense. Insight is formed from the prefix in- plus the English word sight, so this word literally means seeing inward.

Definitions of insight

1

n clear or deep perception of a situation

Synonyms:: penetration

Type of:: perception
knowledge gained by perceiving

n the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation

Synonyms:: brainstorm, brainwave

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; light
mental understanding as an enlightening experience; revelation
an enlightening or astonishing disclosure; breakthrough, discovery, find
a productive insight; flash
a sudden brilliant understanding

Type of:: apprehension, discernment, savvy, understanding
the cognitive condition of someone who understands

n a feeling of understanding

Synonyms:: perceptiveness, perceptivity

Type of:: sensibility
refined sensitivity to pleasurable or painful impressions

n grasping the inner nature of things intuitively

Synonyms:: sixth sense

Type of:: intuition
instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes)