self-description
noun
self-de·scrip·tion
ˌself-di-ˈskrip-shən 
plural self-descriptions
: the act or an instance of describing oneself
… earned a postwar degree from Harvard Law School, forever beggaring his self-description as "just a country lawyer."—
Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen… he is, by self-description, the son of Vietnamese refugees …—Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
also
: a self-descriptive statement
wrote a short self-description
Her self-description of "an outright gross cynic yet total Pollyanna" seems apt. —Amanda Saxton
Amanda Saxton Examples of self-description in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2017, Huffman gave a nuanced, principled explanation of his self-description as a humanist, or non-theist.
—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
The national press has largely accepted Lightfoot’s self-description as progressive, but others on the ground have experienced her mayoralty differently.
—
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2023
The Apple logo prime led people to act more creatively on subsequent study tasks compared to subliminal IBM logo priming—but only when creativity was a part of the participants’ self-descriptions.
—
Nita Farahany,
WIRED,
14 Mar. 2023
And because there has been some poverty alleviation but not enough growth of the middle class, there is still a constituency for Chávez's self-description as the country's greatest-ever welfare provider.
—
Javier Corrales,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Oct. 2012
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David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
The national press has largely accepted Lightfoot’s self-description as progressive, but others on the ground have experienced her mayoralty differently.
—
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2023
The Apple logo prime led people to act more creatively on subsequent study tasks compared to subliminal IBM logo priming—but only when creativity was a part of the participants’ self-descriptions.
—
Nita Farahany,
WIRED,
14 Mar. 2023
And because there has been some poverty alleviation but not enough growth of the middle class, there is still a constituency for Chávez's self-description as the country's greatest-ever welfare provider.
—
Javier Corrales,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Oct. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Self-description.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-description. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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