From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
inwardness
n 1: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some
idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's
argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party";
"the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance,
core, center, essence, gist, heart, {heart and
soul}, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum,
nitty-gritty]
2: preoccupation especially with one's attitudes and ethical or
ideological values; "the sensitiveness of James's
characters, their seeming inwardness"; "Socrates'
inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness" [ant:
outwardness]
3: the quality or state of being inward or internal; "the
inwardness of the body's organs" [ant: outwardness]
4: preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature
(especially ethical or ideological values); "Socrates'
inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness"- H.R.Finch
[ant: outwardness]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Inwardness \In"ward*ness\, n.
1. Internal or true state; essential nature; as, the
inwardness of conduct.
[1913 Webster]
Sense can not arrive to the inwardness
Of things. --Dr. H. More.
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2. Intimacy; familiarity. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Heartiness; earnestness.
[1913 Webster]
What was wanted was more inwardness, more feeling.
--M. Arnold.
[1913 Webster]