self-fulfilling

[self-fool-fil-ing]

adjective

1. characterized by or bringing about self-fulfillment.

2. happening or brought about as a result of being foretold, expected, or talked about.

   a self-fulfilling prophecy.

self-fulfilling

adjective

1. (of an opinion or prediction) borne out because it is expected to be true or to happen

   a self-fulfilling prophecy

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-fulfilling¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

“That will create a self-fulfilling dynamic.”

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This lowers - though does not eliminate - the chances of self-fulfilling expectations of inflation in the way wages and prices are set.

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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.

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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.

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"I'm concerned about the narrative which is that young men are drifting towards the right being seen as a self-fulfilling prophecy where young men are then considered a problem," he says.

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When To Use

What does self-fulfilling prophecy mean?

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that causes itself to be true due to the behavior (including the act of predicting it) of the believer.Self-fulling, here, means “brought about as a result of being foretold or talked about,” while prophecy refers to the prediction.