self-fulfilling
Americanadjective
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characterized by or bringing about self-fulfillment.
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happening or brought about as a result of being foretold, expected, or talked about.
a self-fulfilling prophecy.
adjective
Usage
What does self-fulfilling prophecy mean? A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that causes itself to be true due to the behavior (including the act of predicting it) of the believer.Self-fulling, here, means “brought about as a result of being foretold or talked about,” while prophecy refers to the prediction.
Etymology
Origin of self-fulfilling
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
Inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling, which is why Federal Reserve officials watch them closely.
“The 200-day moving average is a potential support zone, especially because it’s so widely followed that it can become self-fulfilling,” said Will Tamplin, a strategist at Fairlead Strategies.
From MarketWatch
This is reassuring, since people expecting higher prices might speed up purchases or press harder for raises, which can make inflation expectations self-fulfilling.
Federal Reserve policymakers are especially intent on keeping longer-run inflation expectations in check, given their concerns that rising inflation expectations among consumers could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The framework sees inflation as mostly a function of economic slack—the gap between demand and what the economy can supply—as revealed by indicators such as unemployment, as well as the public’s inflation expectations, which can be self-fulfilling.
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.
