1. (

• kernel ,
• substance ,
• core ,
• center ,
• centre ,
• essence ,
• gist ,
• heart ,
• heart_and_soul ,
• inwardness ,
• marrow ,
• meat ,
• nub ,
• pith ,
• sum ,
• nitty-gritty

) 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" ;

2. (

• inwardness

) preoccupation especially with one's attitudes and ethical or ideological values; "the sensitiveness of James's characters, their seeming inwardness"; "inwardness is what an Englishman quite simply has, painlessly, as a birthright" ;

3. (

• inwardness

) the quality or state of being inward or internal; "the inwardness of the body's organs" ;

4. (

• inwardness ,
• internality

) preoccupation with what concerns human inner nature (especially ethical or ideological values); "Socrates' inwardness, integrity, and inquisitiveness"- H.R.Finch ;