English
introvert
Pronunciation 1
  • IPA: /ˈɪntɹəvɜː(ɹ)t/
Noun

introvert (plural introverts)

  1. (zoology) An organ or other body part that is or can be turned inside out, especially an anterior portion of some annelid worms capable of retraction.
    • 1883, E. Ray Lankester, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. XVI, p. 652, s.v. "Mollusca":
      Important distinctions which obtain amongst the various ‘introverts’ or intro- and e-versible tubes so frequently met with in animal bodies.
  2. (psychology) An introverted person: one who is considered more thoughtful than social, with a personality more inwardly than outwardly directed; one who often prefers to have time in non-social situations.
    • 1916, Constance Ellen Long trans. Carl Jung as Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology, p. 349:
      An Extravert can hardly conceive the necessity which compels the Introvert to conquer the world by means of a system.
    • 1918 April, Phyllis Blanchard, "A Psycho-Analytic Study of August Comte", American Journal of Psychology, p. 163:
      In order to understand the marked contract between Comte's mental attitude during his early years and that of his later life, we must keep in mind Jung's hypothesis of the two psychological types, the introvert and extrovert,—the thinking type and the feeling type.
    • 1920 May 21, Challenge, p. 44:
      All works of the imagination are conceived by men of the introvert type.
    • 1925, Charles Fox, Educational Psychology, p. 254:
      The introvert abstracts from the object and deals with it by concepts concentrating upon the inner world of thought.
  3. (figuratively) A reserved person.
Antonyms Related terms Translations
  • French: introverti
  • Russian: интрове́рт
  • Spanish: introvertido
Adjective

introvert

  1. Alternative form of introverted#English|introverted.
    • 1934 July, British Journal of Psychology, p. 26:
      They were noticeably more introvert, schizoid and desurgent in temperament.
Pronunciation 2
  • (British) IPA: /ɪntɹəʊˈvəːt/
  • (America) IPA: /ɪntɹoʊˈvəɹt/
Verb

introvert (introverts, present participle introverting; past and past participle introverted)

  1. To turn inwards.
    1. To think about internal or spiritual matters.
      • 1671, Abraham Woodhead trans. The Life of the Holy Mother Saint Teresa..., xxviii:
        […] the Soul being straight, introverted […] into itself, and easily conforming to God's will and time […]
      • 1822, William Hazlitt, "Prejudice" in Table-talk, p. 85:
        The less we look abroad, the more our ideas are introverted, and our habitual impressions... grow together into a kind of concrete substance.
    2. (zoology) To withdraw an organ or body part within itself or its base.
      • 1785, William Cowper, "The Task", Cant. IV, ll. 633 ff.:
        His awkward gait, his introverted toes,
        Bent knees, round shoulders, and dejected looks […]


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary