self-reinforcing

adjective

self-re·​in·​forc·​ing
ˌself-ˌrē-ən-ˈfȯr-siŋ
 How to pronounce self-reinforcing (audio)
: tending or serving to strengthen itself : reinforcing itself
According to this thinking, a self-reinforcing feedback loop—bigger brains, better tools, more food—drove forward the process of human evolution.Michael Rothschild
Just as many negative behaviors are self-reinforcing, we often view related positive behaviors as more trouble than they're worth.Colleen Dunn Bates

Examples of self-reinforcing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Passive has further enabled the birth of Big Tech, mega-cap market hegemons that reap outsized riches from self-reinforcing lofty valuations. Mike Terwilliger, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025 Understanding how to win awards becomes crucial in this self-reinforcing cycle, where excellence and awards systems transform good hotels into great ones and great ones into industry legends. Ascend Agency, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025 At that point, technological progress would become self-reinforcing, operating on a runaway feedback loop: A.I. would build more powerful A.I. on its own, rendering humans superfluous. Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025 This creates what Grvt hopes will be a self-reinforcing cycle. Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025 The core of the solution is to build an unshakable, self-reinforcing digital identity that leaves no room for confusion. Jason Barnard, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2025 But if businesses start to increase layoffs, then that'll set off a kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycle—layoffs, less spending, less spending, more layoffs. Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025 Together, the Holocaust and Israel provided a self-reinforcing narrative of Jewish history, Jewish identity, and Jewish destiny. Daniel May, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-reinforcing was in 1884

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Cite this Entry

“Self-reinforcing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-reinforcing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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