self-fulfillment

American  

[self-fool-fil-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf fʊlˈfɪl mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

especially British, self-fulfilment

noun

1. the act or fact of fulfilling one's ambitions, desires, etc., through one's own efforts.

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Etymology

Origin of self-fulfillment

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Turner-Seed’s own writing lays bare a struggle for self-fulfillment, to reconcile the traditional values pushed by her Jewish immigrant parents with a restless need to discover and make her own way.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025

He set himself apart with a management style that mixed Japan’s work ethic with concepts of higher callings and self-fulfillment, often taken from Mr. Inamori’s own writings.

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2022

Everyone who volunteers for the day of service, Harrell said, will get two things: a sense of self-fulfillment that they did something about a problem rather than just complaining, and a T-shirt.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 18, 2022

He had ensnared her entire family with his pseudophilosophy of self-fulfillment and pitted them against one another.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2020

She's romance, self-fulfillment and, as you've said, the last dream of my youth.

From The Kingdom Round the Corner A Novel by Dawson, Coningsby