Omphaloskepsis

//ˌɒmfələˈskɛpsɪs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The contemplation of or meditation upon one's navel; navel-gazing. uncountable
  2. 2
    literally, the contemplation of one's navel, which is an idiom usually meaning complacent self-absorption wordnet
  3. 3
    Ratiocination to the point of self-absorption. figuratively, uncountable

    "Act we must; for we cannot sit rapt in educational omphaloscepsis while youngsters grow up and become the fathers and mothers of the next generation."

Synonyms

All synonyms
navel gazingnavel-gazing

Example

More examples

"Act we must; for we cannot sit rapt in educational omphaloscepsis while youngsters grow up and become the fathers and mothers of the next generation."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós, “navel”) + σκέψις (sképsis, “perception, reflection”).

Related phrases

navel gazingself absorption

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.