self-actualize
Americanverb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
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.
See Examples For:
There are neurodiversity advocates like autistic animal behaviorist Temple Grandin who encourage autistic people to self-actualize, and to recognize when their autism-related suffering is caused by discrimination rather than their own bodies.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2023
“These kids are just like you and me. They want to self-actualize, they want to be the best they can be,” Mason said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2021
The directors suggested the experience of participating in the rescue helped you self-actualize.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2021
In the normal course of things, all of those characters would self-actualize and follow their bliss to one of those Hollywood endings they sing about in a choreographed lunchroom number.
From The Verge ● Dec. 5, 2018
“They raised the three of us to self-actualize, to do what we love and are passionate about,” says Lynn Tyson, an executive in investor relations.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2015
“I think of myself as an evolved and self-actualized woman,” she says with a laugh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025
Swain is a total delight as the most self-actualized queen in the room, unwilling to dim his light for anyone still living in the dark.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2022
The profession has lost is a fearless reporter who was more self-actualized than most journalists her age, current and former colleagues said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2022
In contrast, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” a perennially popular graduation gift, features a chipper, self-actualized little white fellow who is definitely on the path to greatness:
From Washington Post ● Jan. 30, 2020
Imbued with a quiet, awkward charm by Alyson Hannigan, Willow grew from a nerdy teen into a self-actualized world-saving witch, emerging as the heart and moral center of the show over its eight seasons.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2019
Feminist writer Aimee Anderson frets about “the extinction of an entire people,” and Cherríe Moraga worries that butch lesbians, self-actualizing as transmasculine, might “become a dying breed.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2021
Psychologists have found that authenticity in this self-actualizing sense improves well-being—it’s good for you.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2019
Google the term "daily practice," and you'll get an assortment of mindfulness tips and prompts encouraging a regular, self-actualizing regime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2018
Carl Rogers believed the same thing when he spoke of the "self-actualizing tendency" of humans.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 24, 2017
The cubicles and conference rooms sport a panoply of self-actualizing slogans, inspirational banners and instructional flow charts.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2015
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.
