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Definition of "self-definition" [self-definition]

  • Definition of one's identity, character, abilities, and attitudes, especially in relation to persons or things outside oneself or itself. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "self-definition" in a sentence
  • "This need for an external source of self-definition became part of the core of Protestantism."
  • "The former is underpinned by an entrenched social reality, whereas the latter is more a question of self-definition, with the corresponding effect that offline impact of the former is likely to be far greater than that of the latter."
  • ""The greatest importance of the word 'Orient' in 19th-century thinking," observes ASO music director Leon Botstein, "was as a source of inspiration and self-definition among Western artists and writers.""