self-contained
[self-kuh n-teynd, self-]
- containing in oneself or itself all that is necessary; independent.
- reserved or uncommunicative.
- self-controlled or self-possessed.
- (of a machine or mechanism) complete in itself.
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Origin of self-contained
First recorded in 1585–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for self-contained
Contemporary Examples
They can do this because they believe they operate in self-contained worlds unto themselves.
The three episodes will be a self-contained arc ending at Prom Night and will serve as a prologue for the rest of the series.
At its peak The Farm had 1,500 members; it was a self-contained world with its own school, farm, midwives and social tenets.
The acting exists in a self-contained bubble of Phoenix yelling at Hoffman and Hoffman yelling at Phoenix, and more yelling.
A Debate About Paul Thomas Anderson’s Movie ‘The Master’Ramin Setoodeh, Marlow Stern
September 14, 2012
Each of Baker's paragraphs also seem to exist in a self-contained platform.
Historical Examples
Yet we have just seen that the Greeks of old were too self-contained for their Italian brethren.
The Dramatic Values in PlautusWilton Wallace Blancke
Each village community was self-contained, and had its own officers.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
To him the subject-matter 23 of the science is self-contained.
The Child and the CurriculumJohn Dewey
His gloomy eye smouldered as it considered the self-contained buccaneer.
Captain BloodRafael Sabatini
And he was cool, too; cool and self-contained; fearless and purposeful.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
self-contained
- containing within itself all parts necessary for completeness
- (of a flat) having its own kitchen, bathroom, and lavatory not shared by others and usually having its own entrance
- able or tending to keep one's feelings, thoughts, etc, to oneself; reserved
- able to control one's feelings or emotions in the presence of others
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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 self-contained
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper