self-enforcing
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-enforcing
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.
Once society selects a date, however, that date becomes self-enforcing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
As Michelle Lapointe, legal director at American Immigration Council, told Slate, administrative subpoenas are not self-enforcing.
From Slate • Feb. 5, 2026
It would reflect the reality that norms are not self-enforcing.
From Salon • Oct. 10, 2020
Our Constitution is not self-enforcing, and progress is not necessarily linear or permanent.
From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2019
The existing poor-law in Glencalvie is a self-enforcing law, that rises direct out of the unsophisticated sympathies of the Highland heart, and costs the proprietary nothing.
From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by Davidson, John
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.
