Scrutiny means careful, close examination or inspection of something. When you put something under scrutiny, you're looking at it very carefully, checking every detail to understand it fully or find problems.

Think about examining a baseball card you just traded for: you'd look closely at the corners, check for creases, and inspect the printing quality. That's scrutiny. Scientists put their experiments under scrutiny before publishing results. Editors put manuscripts under scrutiny, reading every sentence multiple times. When your teacher reviews your essay carefully, marking every grammar mistake and checking your arguments, that's scrutiny.

The word often suggests a critical eye, not accepting things at face value. Government officials face public scrutiny when citizens examine their decisions carefully. A jeweler puts a diamond under scrutiny with a magnifying glass to check for flaws. Scrutinizing something means you're not just glancing at it but really studying it, often because you need to be sure about what you're seeing.

When something withstands scrutiny, it means it holds up even when examined closely and carefully. The opposite of scrutiny might be a quick glance or casual look that misses important details.