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autosuggestion

[aw-toh-suh g-jes-chuh n, -suh-]
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noun Psychology.
  1. suggestion arising from oneself, as the repetition of verbal messages as a means of changing behavior.
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Origin of autosuggestion

First recorded in 1885–90; auto-1 + suggestion
Related formsau·to·sug·gest·i·ble, adjectiveau·to·sug·gest·i·bil·i·ty, nounau·to·sug·ges·tion·ist, nounau·to·sug·ges·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

thought, suspicion, indication, notion, connotation, allusion, whisper, inkling, strain, signification, telltale, breath, cue, vein, reminder, insinuation, trace, symbol, clue, smack

Examples from the Web for autosuggestion

Historical Examples

  • The thought of crime now becomes a sort of obsession or rather an autosuggestion.

    Psychotherapy

    Hugo Mnsterberg

  • Its connection with the phenomena of autosuggestion is very clear.

  • It is at this point that the ordinary book on autosuggestion breaks down—so far as any practical usefulness is concerned.

  • Then the autosuggestion "bobs up," common sense is side-tracked, we toss and worry—and of course stay awake.

    Outwitting Our Nerves

    Josephine A. Jackson and Helen M. Salisbury

  • His story illustrates the power of an autosuggestion and the disastrous effect of attention to a physiological function.

    Outwitting Our Nerves

    Josephine A. Jackson and Helen M. Salisbury

British Dictionary definitions for autosuggestion

autosuggestion

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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Derived Formsautosuggestive, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for autosuggestion

n.

also auto-suggestion, 1879, a hybrid from auto- + suggestion. The idea, and probably the model for the word, originally from French.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
autosuggestion in Medicine

autosuggestion

(ô′tō-səg-jĕs′chən)
n.
  1. The dwelling upon an idea, thought, or concept, thereby inducing some change in the mental or bodily functions.
  2. The process by which a person induces self-acceptance of an opinion, belief, or plan of action.
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Related formsau′to•sug•gest′ v.au′to•sug•gest′i•bil′i•ty (-ə-bĭl′ĭ-tē) n.au′to•sug•gest′i•ble adj.au′to•sug•ges′tive (-tĭv) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.