self-fulfilling prophecy

[self-fool-fil-ing prof-uh-see]

noun

1. a prediction, whether founded or unfounded, that is ultimately confirmed because the very act of foretelling it influences behaviors and perceptions in ways that ultimately bring it about.

2. predestination paradox.

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-fulfilling prophecy¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

It’s becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the “public” in public health is erased, ignoring the deeply rooted fact that an individual’s health cannot and never will be isolated from everyone else.

Read more on Salon

This dark attitudes perpetuated on Whatever and its red-pill ilk can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, exacerbating the male loneliness crisis.

Read more on Salon

“A U.S.-China AI arms race becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, with neither side able to trust that the other would observe any restrictions on advanced AI capability development.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Payroll itself should not define competitive balance, but that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if an owner decides competing with the Dodgers would be no less futile by spending another $25 million on players.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Linklater’s movies have frequently featured affable underdogs, but by contrast, “Blue Moon” is an elegy to a bitter, insecure man whose view of himself as a failure has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times