self-reference

American  

[self-ref-er-uhns, -ref-ruhns] / ˈsɛlfˈrɛf ər əns, -ˈrɛf rəns /

noun

1. reference made to oneself, to one's own character or experience, or to a group with which one identifies.

2. Logic. the property of a statement that is a statement about itself, as “This statement is grammatical.”

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Sensitive Note

Social, ethnic, or other groups often use terms of self-reference in a neutral, even affectionate or jocular way, much like nicknames. These self-referential terms function to reinforce solidarity among members of the group. However, when used by outsiders, these very same terms are perceived as offensive by those who belong to the group. Examples of self-referential terms are Canuck, chick, dyke, geek, nigger, queer.

Other Word Forms

• self-referential adjective
• self-referentially adverb
• self-referring adjective

Example Sentences

Gokavi wrote back then about Freeman’s capacity to wink, about his chronic but unserious self-reference as “The Deuce,” an homage to his jersey number.

From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2022

New designs frequently recall classic models, in a cycle of self-reference as constant as the ticking of a second hand.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2019

A truly fascinating man, Angleton was a devoted student of the matchless British literary critic William Empson, who descried, in the densely metaphoric poems of Donne and Shakespeare, patterns of subtle contradiction, self-reference, and ambiguity.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 26, 2019

Poetic self-reference matters more than strict consistency, attitude more than mythology.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2018

She was too rancourless, too detached from conventional standards, too free from private self-reference.

From The Bostonians, Vol. I (of II) by James, Henry