self-definition
Americannoun
plural
self-definitions-
the act or process of defining or identifying one's own character, purpose, role, etc.
-
the description used by someone to define or identify their own character, purpose, role, etc.
Other Word Forms
- self-definitional adjective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not to do so is to outsource the right’s self-definition to the most vile and discrediting.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
This is not about identity politics but ennui: Even minuscule choices, like what socks to wear, are part of a larger cultural self-definition and viral conversation.
From Slate • Aug. 3, 2024
It is “a living expression of the dynamic power of community,” the announcement said, one that “aims to inspire liberation, self-definition, community building and economic autonomy.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024
“The album is kind of disparate sonically, disparate in terms of what the songs are saying, but the connective tissue is self-definition and agency and identity and interrogating those things,” McPherson said.
From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2022
The more complex the axes of self-definition, the more multifaceted and intractable the conflicts.
From Terrorists and Freedom Fighters by Vaknin, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
