self-expression

[ self-ik-spresh-uhn, self- ]

/ ˈsɛlf ɪkˈsprɛʃ ən, ˌsɛlf- /

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noun

the expression or assertion of one's own personality, as in conversation, behavior, poetry, or painting.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of self-expression

First recorded in 1890–95

OTHER WORDS FROM self-expression

self-ex·pres·sive, adjective

Words nearby self-expression

self-exculpatory, self-executing, self-exile, self-existent, self-explanatory, self-expression, self-feed, self-feeder, self-fertile, self-fertilization, self-financing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use self-expression in a sentence

We see detoxing as a path to transcendence, a symbol of modern urban virtue and self-transformation through abstinence.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Stephanie Giorgio, a classical musician, credits The Class for helping her cope with anxiety, focus, fear, and self-doubt.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For someone with anorexia, self-starvation makes them feel better.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was also an attack on our freedom of expression and way of life.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

I went into the audition as Fericito, the Venezuelan percussionist, and then I did a self-defense expert.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is most peculiar, and when he plays that way, the most bewitching little expression comes over his face.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Let the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Of course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
All elements of expression modify each other, so that no mere rule can cover all cases.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for self-expression

self-expression

noun

the expression of one's own personality, feelings, etc, as in painting, poetry, or other creative activity

Derived forms of self-expression

self-expressive, 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