autosuggestion

American  

[aw-toh-suhg-jes-chuhn, -suh-] / ˌɔ toʊ səgˈdʒɛs tʃən, -sə- /

noun

Psychology.

1. suggestion arising from oneself, as the repetition of verbal messages as a means of changing behavior.

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autosuggestion British  

/ ˌɔːtəʊsəˈdʒɛstʃən /

noun

1. a process of suggestion in which the person unconsciously supplies or consciously attempts to supply the means of influencing his own behaviour or beliefs

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Other Word Forms

• autosuggestibility noun
• autosuggestible adjective
• autosuggestionist noun
• autosuggestive adjective

Etymology

Origin of autosuggestion

First recorded in 1885–90; auto- ¹ + suggestion

Example Sentences

The reappearance of these hairs after the grafting operation certainly cannot be ascribed to autosuggestion, to which certain critics have ascribed other phenomena that follow the greffes testiculaires.

From Time Magazine Archive

I'm sure he absorbed chemistry by autosuggestion, because certainly he was walking in his sleep when he left home washed, properly dressed, fed and equipped with lunch.

From Time Magazine Archive

But it is only powdered sugar and her swoon is a symptom only of autosuggestion.

From Time Magazine Archive

Is the bonhomie real, or is the country engaged in massive autosuggestion?

From Time Magazine Archive

Fear combines every element necessary to give to an autosuggestion its maximum power.

From The Practice of Autosuggestion by Coué, Emile

Related Words

• indication
• notion
• suspicion
• thought