self-referential Hear it!

self-referential Definition

self·-referential (-ref′ə ren′s̸həl)

adjective

  1. making reference to itself or oneself
  2. of, being, or related to a work of literature or art which exhibits the author's or artist's self-conscious awareness of the creative process, of the techniques he or she is using, etc.

self-referential Related Forms
self′·-ref′erential′ity noun
self-referential Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • very: As a group we tend to be very self-referential, and dislike learning from other disciplines.
  • increasingly: Fantasy is hot; it is also a fast-breeder and increasingly self-referential.
  • alarmingly: Readers, alarmingly self-referential third-person literary device, whatever.
  • not: Unlike a, this proposition is not self-referential; it refers instead to a.

Modifies a noun

  • urls: New UseCanonicalName directive This directive gives control over how Apache creates self-referential URLs.
  • sentence: A guy called David Moser once wrote a short story in self-referential sentences.
  • nature: For example, this sentence is self-referential because it asserts its self-referential nature.
  • statement: Self-referential statements may also be e.g. , " this sentence is false " .
  • test: Self-referential aptitude test... test page, with detailed solutions!
  • system: Some authors state that self-referential systems are " closed " .

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Language is no longer necessarily tied to social reality: language becomes self-referential.