self-perpetuating

[ self-per-pech-oo-ey-ting, self- ]

/ ˈsɛlf pərˈpɛtʃ uˌeɪ tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR self-perpetuating ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.

capable of indefinite continuation.

Nearby words

self-operating, self-opinion, self-opinionated, self-paced, self-parody, self-perpetuating, self-pity, self-pitying, self-plagiarism, self-poised, self-pollinate

Origin of self-perpetuating

First recorded in 1815–25

Related forms

self-per·pet·u·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for self-perpetuating

Long-term unemployment isn't special just because it's longer; it's special because it's self-perpetuating.
D.C. Decides That Unemployment Is So 2009|David Frum|May 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In war and in peace, inevitable, self-perpetuating economies arise around the smuggling of illicit goods.
Bootleg Empire: America the Smuggler Nation|Cameron Martin|March 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Independent voters increasingly see both parties as captives of corrupt, self-serving and self-perpetuating political machinery.
The GOP Game Plan for 2010|Denis Calabrese|September 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The pendulum swing of politics has a funny way of self-perpetuating.
Obama's New 'Best Friends'|John Avlon|August 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The somatoplasm can only in the most general way affect the self-perpetuating, close corporation of the germ-plasm.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler
Its current development appears to be motivated by a self-perpetuating drive: knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin
The body was self-perpetuating and very careful to maintain its respectability in the election of new members.
Memoir of John Howe Peyton|Various
The proposal contained within itself that self-perpetuating power, for which the schemes of slave-owners are so remarkable.
An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans|Lydia Maria Child
They are all self-perpetuating, yet always passing into new forms.
I Walked in Arden|Jack Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for self-perpetuating

self-perpetuating

adjective

(of machine, emotion, idea, etc) continuing or prevailing without any external agency or intervention

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