self-reflexive
adjective
self-re·flex·ive
ˌself-ri-ˈflek-siv 
: marked by or making reference to its own artificiality or contrivance
self-reflexive fiction
self-reflexively
adverb
self-reflexiveness
noun
Examples of self-reflexive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In a recent shining example of self-reflexive satire, Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand (translated in 2022 from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell), gives us an 80-year-old Indian woman protagonist whose decision to travel to Pakistan disrupts the family’s expectations of women her age.
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Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
The self-reflexive qualities of the work go further, and the film can surely be read as a statement about the limits and possibilities of a totally analogue and backwards-gazing practice.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Production duo Take a Daytrip is on board as executive producers for the new set, out today (July 25), while helping sonically guide Genesis to reclaim her power with self-reflexive spoken-word raps, inspired in part by Lauryn Hill’s MTV Unplugged.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 July 2025
Movie depictions of video stores are inherently self-reflexive, and many of them express the resistance of the theatrical-movie business to its home-video frenemy.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
The filmmaker puts aside the self-reflexive storytelling that has marked much of his work since he was first arrested in 2010, delivering a straightforward narrative that’s plotted like a good thriller but builds into a stark condemnation of abusive power.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2025
His deep understanding of cinematic storytelling shapes the film’s self-reflexive narrative.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2025
But Lou’s film is also an elaborately self-reflexive blend of fiction and nonfiction.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
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Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
The self-reflexive qualities of the work go further, and the film can surely be read as a statement about the limits and possibilities of a totally analogue and backwards-gazing practice.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Production duo Take a Daytrip is on board as executive producers for the new set, out today (July 25), while helping sonically guide Genesis to reclaim her power with self-reflexive spoken-word raps, inspired in part by Lauryn Hill’s MTV Unplugged.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 July 2025
Movie depictions of video stores are inherently self-reflexive, and many of them express the resistance of the theatrical-movie business to its home-video frenemy.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
The filmmaker puts aside the self-reflexive storytelling that has marked much of his work since he was first arrested in 2010, delivering a straightforward narrative that’s plotted like a good thriller but builds into a stark condemnation of abusive power.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2025
His deep understanding of cinematic storytelling shapes the film’s self-reflexive narrative.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2025
But Lou’s film is also an elaborately self-reflexive blend of fiction and nonfiction.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-reflexive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-reflexive. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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