self-reference

American  

[self-ref-er-uhns, -ref-ruhns] / ˈsɛlfˈrɛf ər əns, -ˈrɛf rəns /

noun

1. reference made to oneself, to one's own character or experience, or to a group with which one identifies.

2. Logic. the property of a statement that is a statement about itself, as “This statement is grammatical.”

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Sensitive Note

Social, ethnic, or other groups often use terms of self-reference in a neutral, even affectionate or jocular way, much like nicknames. These self-referential terms function to reinforce solidarity among members of the group. However, when used by outsiders, these very same terms are perceived as offensive by those who belong to the group. Examples of self-referential terms are Canuck, chick, dyke, geek, nigger, queer.

Other Word Forms

• self-referential
  adjective
• self-referring
  adjective
• self-referentially
  adverb

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-reference

Gokavi wrote back then about Freeman’s capacity to wink, about his chronic but unserious self-reference as “The Deuce,” an homage to his jersey number.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2022

And each iteration of “Irma Vep” brings additional, increasingly complex ripples of self-reference.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2022

Pincus-Witten taxed him with narcissism—not incorrectly, but he failed to credit the steely discipline with which Nauman marshals his uses of self-reference.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018

In literature, I loved artifice and self-reference above all: metafiction from all eras, extreme experimentalism at the level of word and sentence.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2018

It happens every time a newspaper prints a story about reporters, every time someone writes a book about writing, designs a book about design, makes a movie about movies, or writes an article about self-reference.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai