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
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This approach creates a self-reinforcing cycle of improved operational performance, improved business performance, and improved brand desirability. Jill Standish, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025 Any radical rethink of this happy self-reinforcing cycle in 2025 would be a tricky challenge for the market to face, though the evidence of such a shift in thinking is still mostly anecdotal and incomplete. Michael Santoli, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025 This self-reinforcing cycle has led to explosive growth for firms like Allied, which by some measures is now North America’s third-largest private employer, behind only Walmart and Amazon, and the seventh largest in the world. Jasper Craven, Harper's Magazine, 23 July 2024 Taylor Swift has sped up a self-reinforcing cycle: More women are watching sports, so sports are doing more to welcome those new spectators, and therefore even more women are tuning in and showing up. Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 24 Sep. 2024 When winning becomes the only thing that matters, unethical fighting becomes progressively more forceful in self-reinforcing ways. Ray Dalio, TIME, 25 June 2024 The danger is self-reinforcing, as the unlawful nature of many basement apartments, and all cellar apartments, makes tenants wary of rocking the boat with landlords or city authorities. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 9 May 2024 But within this self-reinforcing climate, there is simply now an easier path to escalatory conduct. Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2023 That increase in demand causes the price to increase, which causes even more interest in a self-reinforcing cycle. Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

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

Dictionary Entries Near self-reinforcing

Cite this Entry

“Self-reinforcing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-reinforcing. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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