self-containment

American  

[self-kuhn-teyn-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf kənˈteɪn mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. the state of being self-contained.

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Etymology

Origin of self-containment

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

But devotees do want someone called “Sherlock Holmes” to have some passing resemblance to the character they know—the coolly cerebral detective whose self-containment is as pronounced as his deductions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

This aim of self-containment, back turned to the street outside, has long put big hotel lobbies out of favor with urbanists.

From Slate • Jul. 28, 2023

Perhaps the most touching works in the Philadelphia show are those that suggest the longer arc of Scully’s career, from purity to messiness, rigidity to freedom, self-containment to self-expression.

From Washington Post • May 27, 2022

Subtitled television shows have always been a great way to travel vicariously, and that particular thrill has grown exponentially in a time of homebound self-containment.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2020

It startled her, that Obinzes mother, fully hemmed into her self-containment, her intense privacy, could cry watching a film.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie