scrutiny.

Careful examination intended to find problems, assess reliability, or understand details.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• public scrutiny
• withstand scrutiny

On the page

The cost estimates did not withstand scrutiny once the assumptions were disclosed.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, evaluation. Commonness: moderately common.